AV High
by Write-To-You
Summary: Welcome to Arrowverse High, where my first high school AU takes place. Friends, drama, romance, crushes, angst, homework: immerse yourself in the exciting life of a high schooler... completely romanticized and not at all realistic. Posting once a week! Pairings insides :) (under the Flash category but is a compete Arrowverse Crossover with Supergirl, Arrow and Legends too)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Here's the real tea: I've never actually been in high school. I'm homeschooled oooops XD **

**This fanfiction was inspired by Taylor Swift's genius and amazing song/music video for You Belong With Me. Seriously. Find it, and watch it, ****_now. _****Before you read this. It's SOOOOO GOOD, and really quite satisfying.**

**(then come back and read, because this story is pretty terrific as well, if I do say so myself)**

**READ THIS FOR MAIN PAIRINGS INCLUDED:**

**Karamel**

**Theroy**

**ColdCanary**

**Olicity**

**Westallen**

**Snowbert**

**Sanvers **

**(there are others developed/mentioned later in the fanfiction)**

**If you don't like one or two pairings, pleeeease give this a chance even so! The characters are my high-school interpretation, so basically Westallen is WAY cuter than in the show LOL (please don't kill me WA fans I'm sorry). **

**And again, there are more ships than this that happen about halfway through, and even more that are mentioned in passing. So PLEASE give it a chance because I worked REALLY hard on this story! **

Monday morning dawned bright and stressful. It was a brilliant September day, despite the weatherman's nearly unanimous cautions of rain.

'_Well, maybe the Universe really _is_ looking out for me today_,' smiled Kara Danvers as she gazed out at the blue sky, and then slipped on a shirt that was nearly the same color.

Her adoptive sister, Alex, met her yawning in the hallway, combing her fingers through her short hair, tangled with bedhead. Kara beamed. "First day of school, Alex!"

"I remembered that, somehow." Alex said, then shut herself in the bathroom for the next half hour.

Kara bounced down to breakfast in her preppy pleated skirt, hugged her adopted mom Eliza, and bit into a pancake. "Yum, thanks. I was starving."

"You're always starving." Eliza reminded her, flipping a few more pancakes on the griddle. Pancakes on the first day of school was always a tradition for the family of 3.

Alex came into the kitchen and slumped groggily in her chair. "Thanks for making the food, mum." She picked at her plate, twisting her fork back and forth in her fingers.

"Nervous?" Kara asked, not seeming all that anxious herself. Alex grunted something. "Oh, come on, it won't be that bad. New teachers, new classmates." She trailed off, and tried a different approach, "New boys..."

"I'm gay." Alex reminded her.

"New girls, then!" Kara beamed, satisfied. "I call shotgun on the car ride there!"

"Of course you... I'm driving." Alex said, squinting as she tried to figure out how her sister's brain could be so tiny and... awake.

"All the better."

Eliza got her two daughters, dressed and with backpacks already filled with pre-received books, out the door and into the car. Alex woke up on the drive over, aided by the normal mug of coffee in her cupholder. The girls didn't speak much, and the only sound other then Ron Ross' morning DJ-ing was the rustle of Kara's shirt as she bounced her leg.

Alex pulled up her silver Prius to the students' parking lot, and picked up her bag, her sister trotting along behind her. "Senior year, huh?" Kara chattered. "Pretty ex-cit-ing..."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Just you wait until it's _your_ senior year. You won't be such a... butterfly."

Kara seemed to take the slight jab as a compliment, and beamed at everyone they passed, including the entire school's least favorite teacher, Ms. Grant.

Ms. Grant was an English teacher for all the sophomores. It was said that she had a glare that would kill and a tongue that could tear you down where you stood, but Kara had loved her, even going so far as to call her her mentor. They had a bond, no one could argue with that.

Alex and Kara were met at the door by another teacher- taller, with white hair. "Good morning, Professor Stein." Alex greeted politely.

He nodded, looking taxed on sleep and distracted. "Mmm... hello, Allie."

"It's Alex." She corrected, but her favorite teacher was already wandering away.

Kara bounded through the doors, waved to the secretary, and ran up to a anxious looking, dark haired boy. "Winn!"

"Kara!" He gave her a awkward, albeit pleased, hug. "How was your summer?"

"Sooooo busy." Kara said, adding a couple hundred 'o's to the word.

Alex pressed passed them, waving belatedly at her sister. "Have a good day." She called, dodging excited kids to reach her locker.

A flying tackle nearly sent her to the ground. Brown hair swished into her face, back to it's previous long length of freshmen year. "Aaaaalex!" Thea Queen gushed, squeezing her friend happily. "You _finally _got here!"

"I'm not late." Alex smiled.

Sara Lance, and her sister Laurel, followed close behind the petite brunette. "Hey, 'Lex." She grinned, placing one hand on her hip as it slipped out to the side. "Ready for the new school year?" She winked, not waiting for a response. "I hear that there's a few new students."

Thea, always up to date on the newest gossip, leaned in conspiratorially. "2 kids, a male and female. One of them is here _all the way from Alaska_. And the other one's just from Massachusetts."

"I saw her." Laurel said, to all their interest. "She's really pretty."

"Is she now?" The bisexual and completely at ease with it Sara smiled. Her gaze flicked to Alex. "Don't worry, I'll give you a chance, first."

"Yeah right." Alex rolled her eyes and stuffed her bag into her locker, only grabbing the book she needed for her first class: AP Chemistry. "What year is she in?"

"Senior... I think." Laurel, a senior herself, frowned in consideration.

Sara sighed, looking legitimately disappointed. "Ah well, guess she's all yours then, 'Lex."

"We don't even know if she gay, Sara!" Alex protested, fighting a grin.

The girls started to walk down the hallway, stopped only a few times by acquaintances from year before. They parted ways at the calculous classroom, so Alex and Laurel, the two seniors, could take the stairway up to their wing. "See ya, nerds!" Sara called after them, waving to Thea and continuing on her walk to her first class of the day.

Thea and Sara rejoined again for lunch. "How was your morning?" Thea asked, swinging her handbag back and forth as they walked.

Sara bounced on her toes, looking for a suitable place to do a cartwheel in the crowded hallway. "Pretty boring." She said. "We did work, and sat and sat and sat."

Sara was one of those high schoolers that could play 3 seasons of sports (Lacrosse, basketball and soccer), then added on a mixed martial art class and once-a-week gymnastics, but _still_ managed to have time for homework, friends, and "family time with Dad" as she and Laurel fondly called it. She hated sitting still, and seemed to have an endless reservoir of energy that either made the people around her exhausted or jumping off the walls themselves. When asked how she did it, the only response was, "I live off of caffeinated drinks."

Thea glanced around the cafeteria, looking for a spot to sit. She caught a look of a boy sitting at a table by himself. He had a dark red hoodie, pulled low over his face, and through the shadows, Thea could only glimpse an attractive nose and strong jaw. She furrowed her brow, interested, and nudged her friend. "Hey, who's that?"

Sara followed her gaze, peering around some tall boys shoulder, and took a look. "Uh... hang on... hang on... I got nothing."

"His name's Roy Harper." Iris West, hearing their conversation, latched on. The girls greeted their dark haired friend with smiles and hugs, but once the pleasantries were over, Iris got back to business. "Roy Harper is a total bad boy- I wouldn't mess with him, Thea."

Thea nodded absentmindedly, searching for another glance of Roy. He intrigued her, and she wanted to know more about him. And when Thea Queen wanted something, she was sure to get it.

Before she could make a move to go sit at Roy's table (her current plan), Sara grabbed her wrist. "C'mon, I see a table over there."

Iris joined their group of two, something she had done frequently during their sophomore year. The other two didn't mind. Iris was nice to be around, and kept them up to date with everything going on in the classes they weren't in. She worked for the school newspaper, and was extremely social, knowing the names and phone numbers of nearly all the kids in their year. That, paired with Thea's chatty and likable nature, gave them enough drama and gossip to last 5 years, much less one.

All three girls brought lunches from home, a habit developed from many years of experience dealing with disgusting (and fattening, as Thea said) cafeteria food. They talked through mouthfuls of lunch, joined only by a few other juniors, some of Iris' friends.

Caitlin, Cisco and Julian were considered the "science nerds" of AV High. They consistently dominated the top of any science class they walked into- and even some of the math classes. They were stuck in heated discussion about who knows what even after they sat down at the table and started eating.

Iris waved. She was ignored, except for Caitlin's brief, "Hello, Iris- No, because the systematic equation wouldn't factor out between denominators, it-"

They were mostly ignored.

Lunch finished up with Sara bemoaning the loss of recess ("I_ know_ we stopped having it 2 years ago- it's _still awful_!") and finally finding a place to do a cartwheel in the hall. Unfortunately, a teacher caught her in the act, and gave her a 5 minute talk about responsible walking. She was late to class.

Kara crossed paths with her sister only once that day, when she was on her way to her extra, astronomy, taught by Professor Hank Henshaw. She found it interesting, and was joined in that opinion with about 12 other students. One, she would find in a few minutes, to be the new boy.

Alex grabbed her arm as they avoided hitting each other on their separate paths. "I met Maggie," she whispered excitedly.

"Good for you," Kara said back, having no clue to who Maggie was, or why she was important.

Alex didn't offer up any more information, and released her sister so that she could get to AP Physics in before second bell. Kara shook her head and walked into class.

She slammed straight into the chest of a well built, attractive boy, clothed in a collared shirt and jeans. Kara's eyes zipped up, and she zoned out the rest of the classroom the second the boy smiled. "Hi," he said. "Sorry about that."

"Uh..." Kara garbled, tongue suddenly not connecting to her brain.

The boy's smile faltered slightly, and he stepped back, choosing to hold out his hand awkwardly in front of him. "I'm Mon-El."

"Kara. Danvers," Kara responded, shaking his hand hurriedly, glad for something to do. "You, um, new here?"

"Yeah." They both blinked at each other, the newly named Mon-El shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "From Alaska."

"Wow. It's cold there, right?"

"Yeah. Well I mean... some parts. Are cold. Other's... aren't."

They were still staring into each others eyes, only about a foot of awkward space between them.

Some idiot (named Ray Palmer, though nobody really seemed to care) decided that space was enough to go through, and squished himself between them. "Sorry, 'scuse me, thanks," he apologized, stumbling into a seat and setting his book carefully on his desk.

It broke the spell, and both Mon-El and Kara coughed and looked away, hurrying to grab seats of their own, far away from the other's. Kara tried not to look at him the whole class, but he was just _so cute_, it was hard not let her eyes drift to the left, away from the constellations on the ceiling. The third time she slipped, she caught his beautiful eyes and they both blushed, hurriedly looking away. She didn't look at him for the rest of class.

As soon as Professor Henshaw dismissed class, Kara was out the door. She all but ran down the hallway, dreading losing herself to a boy's smile like she had before. That wasn't her. She wasn't like that.

Kara stopped at her locker, and found Julian and Caitlin, two of Winn's friends, standing close together and smiling at each other. "Hi, guys." She greeted.

They both broke eye contact, looking guilty, like talking without Cisco wasn't allowed. Caitlin gave her a small wave. "Hello, Kara. It's nice to see you. How was your summer?"

"Really busy." Kara sighed. "Art camps, I had a job at Zeal's Clothes, and Alex was trying to teach me calculous..." She laughed. "It didn't really work."

"Calculous is tough," Julian allowed. "Just not for me."

Caitlin elbowed him. "Rude," she hissed, giving him a look.

Kara smiled at their dynamic, watching Julian turn to defend himself from her comment. They broke into an argument about what was and wasn't considered rude, and the exact definition of modesty. Kara slipped away, letting them talk. She didn't really know Julian and Caitlin, only through Cisco who she knew through Winn and the occasional game night.

Kara slung her bag over her shoulder, astronomy being her last class for the day. She pushed open the door, holding it for the student behind her, and blinked into the sunshine. It really was a beautiful day.

Sara Lance bounced past her, stopping only to wave. "Helloooooo Alex's little sister!" She called over her shoulder. Then she did a handspring in the grass of the front lawn. "We are done with school for today!" She yelled, spinning with her hands outstretched to the sky.

Thea came down the steps at a more leisurely pace, closely followed by Iris, grinning at her friend. "You gonna do that every day after school? Or is today just special?"

Sara stopped spinning, and then did a back handspring. She stumbled to a stop in front of the petite brunette. "Today is very special. But I might do it every day. I don't know." Her eyes flicked to her watch. "Laurel should be out of her last class now but she's slow. So we have a little bit of time to kill."

The four girls eye's (because Kara was standing awkwardly with them, trying to be involved in the conversation) were drawn to two seniors who had just stepped out of the building. One of them was a giant, burly and gruff looking, and the other one had short cropped hair and a think coat, despite the warm day.

"Leonard Snart and Mick Rory." Thea jumped in, eager to share her newest information. "I heard that they both just got back from Juvie."

"Juvie?" Kara's eyes widened. "Whoa."

"Huh." Sara tilted her head, looking interested. She took a step foreword, but Iris grasped her arm.

"Hey, you don't want to go there," she cautioned. "I know you like bad boys, but if they were in prison..."

"I'll be careful," Sara protested, shaking off her hand and taking a few more strides over. As she approached, she raised her hand in greeting and sent out a winning smile. "Hey, guys! I don't know if I've seen you around here before. I'm Sara Lance."

The skinnier one (Leonard, according to Thea) looked down his nose at the tiny blond. He didn't speak.

Sara wilted a little, some of the original confidence seeping out. "Um... and you are?"

"I'm Mick," Mick grunted, his voice unusually deep and gruff for just a senior. "Rory."

"Leonard Snart," Leonard said, in a distinct cocky drawl, eyeing Sara with a piercing look that seemed to go right through her cropped pink tank top.

Sara looked unblinkingly back at him, ignoring her friends calling her back. "Hi."

Their eyes were locked in an intense staring contest, neither wanting to be the first to look away. Sara realized how beautifully blue Leonard's eyes were, like ocean ice, glimmering in moonlight. There was a certain light in them, one that was a little dangerous; mesmerizing, calculating.

Leonard looked away first, and without another word, spun on his heel and followed Mick across the lawn. Sara took a steadying breath, turned back to her friends, and-

"Sara!" Laurel's voice came through, sharp and condescending, in full older sister mode. "What were you doing?"

She strode up, grabbing her sister's arm and dragging her away from Leonard and Mick. Sara broke away. "I was just saying hi."

"Thea said that those boys were in juvie."

"Thea said that's what she _heard_," Sara corrected, sending Thea a betrayed look. "It doesn't mean it's true."

"It certainly looks true." Laurel frowned, peering over Sara's head to make sure Mick and Leonard weren't still lurking around. They were long gone, though, disappeared behind the wall of the building. "Let's go."

Sara huffed, but followed the brunet toward her car. She waved at Thea, who was watching them, looking a little concerned. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye," Thea murmured. She exchanged glances with Iris.

Iris shrugged. "Hey, I'm all for redemption stories, and if anyone is going to turn those boys lives around -which obviously needs to happen- you _know_ it's going to be Sara."

"Yeah." Thea shuffled her feet, scanning the doors for her brother, who was, as usual, late. "I just don't want her to get hurt."

"She'll be fine," Iris soothed her. "Sara can take care of herself." She glanced at her watch, and took a step toward her own car, a light blue punch buggy with about 3 hundred bumper stickers. "I'm gonna head home, 'kay?"

"Tell Barry hi for me," Thea said absentmindedly, catching sight of her older brother, Oliver, and moving towards him. He was walking with a girl, her face a little bit familiar, blond hair that had escaped it's ponytail blowing in the breeze. "Ollie! I'm over here!"

Oliver Queen looked up, away from the girl's bright smile, and blinked a few times to focus on his sister. "Oh, Thea, hey." As she approached, he gestured to the girl beside him. "Do you know Felicity?"

"Um... you hang around with Kara and Cisco sometimes, right?" Thea asked, her face scrunched as she tried to remember. Kara occasionally joined their group through Alex, and Iris was friendly with Cisco, and they were both knew Felicity... she thought, anyway.

"Uh, yeah." Felicity smiled nervously. "Cisco and Winn. And Julian and Caitlin, sometimes, too. And, uh, I'll let you take your brother... because you guys _are_ brothers, right? I mean, siblings. Because you're obviously a girl. Not to say that you couldn't be a guy, if that's what you want. And I'm not saying that you want that, it just, you know, hypothetically..."

Thea stared at her, trying to catch up. "Sorry, you lost me at 'brother'." She joked, trying to break the now awkward tension.

Oliver coughed. "Uh, Thea, why don't you head to the car? I'll catch up in a second."

Before Thea could turn, the giant linebacker senior that was John Diggle came jogging up. "Hey, Thea." He said. "Felicity."

"You two know each other?" Oliver frowned, trying to make a connection.

"Yeah, she's in my math class." John, called Diggle by his friends, told him.

"I thought you said your were a junior?" Oliver asked Felicity curiously.

"I am," Felicity said, tucking a stand of hair nervously behind her ear, and straightening her rectangular spectacles. "I just... really like math."

Thea could see Oliver's eyebrows raise a little, but he didn't speak. She was glad, not wanting him to embarrass himself (and her) by making some sort of comment about the advanced class placement.

"She's good at it, too," Diggle said, fondly patting Felicity's shoulder. "Well, I'm off to get started on homework, see you all tomorrow." He jogged away (he jogged a lot), dodging through a group of students and vanishing from sight.

"We should probably head home, too," Thea said loudly, breaking off Felicity and Oliver's stare-at-each-other-fest, and grabbing her brother's arm. He let himself be dragged away, only stopping to wave of his shoulder at Felicity.

As soon as they were in the car, Thea raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Oliver asked, flushing.

"What happened to, 'oh I'm mister senior bad boy king of the school'?" Thea said. "Brought down by a little blond junior in glasses. What did she do to you, big brother?"

Oliver turned even redder, but ignored her question, choosing instead to crank up the music and roll down the windows. Thea rolled her eyes, resting her chin on her palm and staring at her reflection in the side view mirror.

This could make for a _very_ interesting year.

**Author's Note: Hey can I just say...**

**IT'S MY THIRD YEAR ANNIVERSARY ON THIS SITE! LET'S GO! UH HUH! COME ON! :D :D :D Everyone celebrate with me hehehehhe.**

**Three is my lucky number so I posted this story to celebrate, because it's a special anniversary for me :)))) **

**I hope you guy enjoyed! I'm actually going to be posting on Fridays (just wanted to do this on my anniversary so that's why it's a Thursday), so I'll catch ya'll then!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Ready for some more? While the last chapter was more to help you get to know your characters for the story (except Barry, forgot about him), this one is going to dive into who they are as people, and their relationships with each other a little more.**

***Note from future Write-To-You: Hey dudes. Also wanted to mention that I rudely forgot to write James into this story for like the first 30 chapters. Don't worry about him; he gets there eventually :)***

Caitlin didn't have much homework when she came home from school on the third day since summer vacation. She always kept unconscious track of how many days it had been since break, until about halfway through the third week, when she wasn't quite sure what day she was on and let it go.

She, Cisco and Julian had gotten the brunt of their work done during study hall. While other kids were texting, posting photos on snapchat, and goofing off with their friends, the three of them pushed through difficult textbook information about physics, physiology, chemistry and, in Caitlin's case, bioengineering.

Stepping lightly on the steps, trying not to disturb her mother's work, Caitlin walked up to her room and set her english homework on her desk. She would to it later, after dinner.

Caitlin sat heavily on her bed, pulling her legs up so she could rest her chin on them. She pulled out her phone, and busied herself with changing her lock screen to a picture that had been taken by Felicity today. It was of her and Julian, deep in conversation by a locker.

Neither of them had known that Felicity had taken the picture until Caitlin's phone buzzed, and they saw it pop up in her text. Julian had laughed it off, blushing as he was how close their faces were, their eyes locked together, no one else existing.

Caitlin, unbeknownst to him, had saved the photo, turning red even as she did it. She had had a crush on Julian since he arrived halfway through their sophomore year, trying to hide it behind shy smiles and an irresistible urge to be around him.

Caitlin had never actually _had_ a boyfriend, even as her best friend Cisco dated girl after girl, starting in 5th grade and not breaking his habit even now, in 11th. The girls he brought in tended to be tall and intimidating, with fierce glares and gorgeous looks. Caitlin had never really seen the point, seeing as they all broke up with him a week or four later, leaving Cisco down in the dumps. Until he saw the next girl, that is.

Watching him fall and get his heart broken time and time again, Caitlin hadn't thought that there was such a thing as a steady relationship at their age. She hadn't thought she'd even want to try.

That all changed when she saw Julian. He had walked into her chemistry class with a cocky smile and his blond hair messed up from a long day, and had taken the seat beside her. He hadn't even faltered, not seeming to be nervous at all as he stuck out his hand and introduced himself, that gorgeous smile stretching across his face when Caitlin nervously tucked her hair behind her ear and told him her name.

Things had just gone from there. Cisco had hit off with him nearly at first sight, only a little turned off by his arrogant attitude during the first few days. Julian had mellowed out after awhile, turning himself into an agreeable young man, always eager to get into a debate, or talk about any problem you were facing (homework or otherwise). He was open and closed off at the same time, hiding troubles, but willing to speak about them if you asked directly. He wormed himself into her heart surprisingly quickly, and Caitlin was glad to count him as one of her very few friends.

Now, however, she wanted more. She was 16 years old, and pretty darn sure she was mature enough to have a boyfriend. Her mother would probably disagree, like she did with everything else Caitlin had an opinion on. Her father would have understood, even pushed her to try something new, if he was...

Not dead. Here. Part of their family. Somewhere where she could reach him.

Caitlin sniffled, hard, and shoved her phone away, Julian's serious face promptly disappearing. Maybe she _would_ work on that English homework now.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Another student who went to AV High was also lost in thought that night. Thea found herself staring out the window of her large, extravagant house, thinking about the boy she had seen in the lunch room today. Bad boy or not, he had looked lonely, and loneliness was not acceptable in Thea Queen's opinion. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she would find him, and introduce her and her friends. If Sara could take risks with mysterious boys, she could, too.

Her resolve was still in place when she woke up to rain. Apparently, the weathermen had decided to be a day off with their storm prediction. The sky was a fierce grey, raining pelting down from they sky to hit the ground with loud patters.

"Darn, my hair's gonna be all flat." Thea grumped, tugging a brush through her long waves, and making a note on her calendar to go get a haircut. She had made the same decision over the summer, regretted it as soon as she couldn't do her hair, and now had forgotten her vow never to do it again.

After throwing her hair into a messy bun ("It's literally the _perfect_ second day of school look."), she got dressed and flopped downstairs.

Rasia (**AN: I ****_may_**** have gotten that name wrong, sorry**), the household maid, gave her a smile. "Good morning, Miss Queen." She greeted in her heavy Russian accent.

"Hi." Thea yawned. "What's for breakfast?"

She was just finishing up her waffles when Oliver came blearily in. He gave the maid a good morning kiss on the cheek, then hugged his little sister. "Hey, Speedy."

"What did I tell you about that nickname?" Thea scolded, flattening down his messy hair. "I'm going to get a bad rap for being a good cross country runner or something."

Oliver snorted. "Oh, horrors," he said sarcastically, taking his own waffles and starting to inhale them like only a teenaged boy could.

Thea rolled her eyes at his sloppiness and clomped back upstairs to brush her teeth.

They followed the bus to school, Oliver banging his head on the steering wheel every time they had to stop and wait for a pick up. "We stopped riding the bus for a reason." He groaned.

"Yeah," Thea said. "Because you _finally_ got your driver's license."

He was quiet after that, unable to come up with a proper comeback to her jibe. When they arrived, Thea grabbed her bag and followed him down the walkway to AV High. Sara and Laurel caught up with them.

Laurel and Oliver walked at a slower pace then their siblings, talking in low voices. "Aw, look at them." Sara smirked. "Acting all mature and responsible."

"Little does anyone know how it's all an act." Thea sighed, shaking her head, mock-mournful. "They don't have a mature bone in their body."

Sara snorted, and waved at a black girl with long, beautiful hair. "Hi, Amaya!"

Amaya, a girl on Sara's soccer team (as Thea found out later), gave her a wave back, and returned to her conversation with a brown haired boy.

Thea came to a stop just before the entrance to the school. Ignoring Sara's protests that they'd be late, she turned to stare at a now familiar boy wearing a red hoodie. "Hey, look." Thea whispered. "It's that Roy kid."

"Ooh, the bad boy?" Sara's face lit up. "I didn't get a good look at him before- he's kinda cute."

Thea tilted her head, eyeing Roy. He was indeed 'kinda cute', and now that his hood was up, she could see a bit more of his face.

He had light brown hair, messy, like he had recently rolled out of bed, and sullen expression creasing his face. She could imagine what he would look like with a smile though, and the effect was very pleasing. His face was nicely sculpted, the strong jaw and nose she had glimpsed earlier much more visible without the shadows.

"Yeah..." Thea breathed, her heart starting to thud a little faster. "I think we should go talk to him."

"Wait, what?" Sara frowned, ready to argue, but Thea had already started on her path.

Roy turned when she came within a few feet of him, and his eyes turned shifty, like a trapped animal. He glanced behind him, as if he was looking for placed to run or disappear to. Thea held up her hand in greeting. "Hi! You're Roy, right?"

"Yeah..." He muttered, now looking suspicious. "Who's asking?"

"I'm Thea Queen." Thea stuck out her hand, and gave him a few seconds to take it (he didn't) before pulling it back down to her side. "My friends and I noticed you at lunch yesterday- you were sitting by yourself."

"I don't like socializing." Roy mumbled.

_That is very obvious_. Thea thought. "Well, if you do decide you feel like socializing, or talking to people, or just sitting with someone at lunch, there are always spots at the table where I sit." She gave him a friendly smile, trying to come off as as harmless as possible.

Roy gave her an odd look. "Uh, I'll pass." He said gruffly, pushing past her and moving quickly toward the building.

A frown crossed Thea's face as she huffed and crossed her arms. That was a first. Usually, people who were sitting alone _liked_ to be invited to things.

Sara came bouncing up beside her. "You ready to go in now?" She asked innocently, but Thea caught her smirk.

"Yes, yes, fine." She grumped, letting her friend lead her inside.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Felicity's first class was math, her favorite and best, but her usually sharp brain was unusually unfocused.

After she was scolded by the teacher for the second time about not paying attention, John Diggle caught her eye and gave her a knowing smile. He knew what was on her mind. He was the cause for her distraction, because he had introduced them. _Darn you, Diggle..._

Oliver Queen. Beautiful, gorgeous, tall, muscular, kind Oliver Queen. His face was stuck, possibly permanently, in her brain. They had talked for 15 minutes, - _15 minutes-_ but she still felt like she knew him inside out.

They had talked about everything, a comfortable conversation where she only broke into babbling twice, possibly a record for her when talking to attractive guys. She had told him about her mother, an overworked, divorced woman, working three different waitressing jobs. He, in turn, had talked about his recently deceased father, his strong-minded mother, his impressionable sister who's innocence was slowly fading as she dealt with the hand that real life had dealt them.

Felicity felt for Oliver in a way that made her insides clench. He didn't deserve to have to try and _be_ his father. He didn't deserve to have to raise his sister. She understood what it was like to have to grow up fast.

The worst part was she wasn't sure how she was ever going to see him again. She really, _really_, wanted to get to know Oliver more. But he was a senior, and she was a junior, and they didn't have any classes the same, or lunch together... it was just one of those relationships that seemed like it would be impossible to make happen. Well, she could still dream about it at night, she supposed.

John approached her after class, still holding that same, knowing smile on his face. "Hey, Felicity."

"Hi, John." Felicity nodded, unsure of what to make of the expression he wore.

"You doing anything on Saturday night? Oliver and I were going to head out and have some fun before our work load gets to be too much. You two seemed to hit it off pretty well; I was wondering if you would want to join us."

Felicity blinked blankly at him for a moment. Who was this large man, some sort of tall, male fairy godmother? "Um... yeah, sure, I'll, uh, have to check my schedule. If you're sure Oliver won't mind, or anything."

"I'm sure he'll be fine with it." Diggle smiled. "Let me know when you check your calendar, okay?"

"Okey-dokey." Felicity nodded, then cringed. "I'm... going to stop sounding like a first grader now, I swear."

Laughing, John shook his head and walked off toward the door.

Felicity resisted the urge to let out an uncivilized squeal. This could work. This could truly, really, honestly, seriously, amazingly, somehow, actually, work.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Sara had soccer after school on Wednesdays (and Thursdays. And Fridays. And Mondays and Tuesdays and... yeah). It was probably her favorite school sport- the other choices being lacrosse and basketball, most likely because of the fact that she could kick things without getting a red card or a talking to.

Really, though, her favorite form of exercise was her _amazing_ mixed martial arts class that she took once a week, on Fridays. It was taught by Master Al Ghul, a stocky man with graying hair who knew his way around a fight better than most soldiers. He was _so cool_, and Sara wanted to be just like him when she grew up. Well... without the grey hair.

Also, the people in her class were really easy to get along with. They all had the shared loved of martial arts, and everyone was really good, focused, and determined. Sara got along especially well with a girl named Nyssa, who also happened to be Master Al Ghul's daughter. Nyssa was smart, quick, homeschooled, and good at what she did. It also didn't help that she was really, really, pretty. And gay.

The two of them had dated, briefly, back in 9th grade, but had decided to break up after only a few months. They were better off as friends, and Sara had decided that she was not quite ready for a serious relationship yet.

At one point, awhile ago, when Oliver was still his boyish, immature self, he had asked both Sara _and_ Laurel on dates. They both refused him, and things were a little odd between Oliver and Laurel in the following months ("Who does he think he is?" Laurel had asked incredulously, when Sara told her about his date request. "Some sort of... _Laurie_? Can't have one sister, wants the other?").

Sara hadn't had anyone ask her out- or asked anyone out herself, for that matter- since. And she hadn't found the need to. She was busy, and had a ton of friends, and her life was much crazier than anyone would expect after seeing her loose, energized attitude.

And now there was him. Leonard Snart. Bad boy. Ex- Juvie inmate.

She liked it.

She liked it a lot.

But she was sure that Laurel would give him one look and say "_NO WAY._" Not that she needed her sister's permission to date people (and not that she was going to be dating Leonard). It just... helped. And then there was the problem of her father. As a cop, he would probably also say no way, just even louder and faster. Her family loved to jump to conclusions that might or might not be true.

Sara looked up from her book as a shadow passed over its pages. She thought it was a bird, at first, but that was stupid, because she was inside. In class.

Instead, she saw that it was him. _Him_. Leonard.

"Um, hi." Sara squeaked. Did he somehow know that she had been thinking about him, and aparated into her english class so he could give her a talking to? _That's ridiculous_. Sara thought. _But was it true?_

Leonard barely made eye contact, however, and simply walked up to the teachers desk. Oh. He must have something to pass along from _his_ classroom. Darn him being a senior. She would never see him unless she made an effort, and Sara was kinda thinking that a boy like him wouldn't _want_ her to make an effort.

Their eyes connected briefly as he walked back out the door, and Leonard gave her a perfect, and perfectly timed, smirk. And then a wink. Just early enough to see her reaction, just late enough that he was gone before she could have the chance to call him out on it.

Sara's heart thudded irregularly in her chest. Ooooh boy.

She was still thinking about the wink when, 3 classes later, she got to soccer practice. Amaya gave her a high five, and joined her on her trek to get changed in the girls locker room. They both put there hair up in ponytails (Sara wasn't big on the whole ponytail with two braids look), and were sitting and talking when their coach, Rip Hunter, came in. "Girls, meet in five minutes on training field 4, alright?"

The two of them tromped toward the playing field, still talking. "Do you know who we're playing this year?" Sara asked. She had kind of forgotten to read the insanely long email that Coach Hunter had sent out.

"Well," Amaya hummed, always up to date on anything teachers had instructed. And the things they hadn't, because she somehow knew those as well. "We'll be playing all the same schools we did last year, going to finals-"

"And hopefully winning them."

"Same team as last year, mostly, with a few additions of new freshmen a some other kids who didn't make the cut last year. And Coach wants us to see the boy's teams games if we can."

"Cool." Sara nodded. She took pause, thinking suddenly. With a little bit of luck, and some chance... this could actually work to her favor. "Hey, Amaya? Do you know that boy, Leonard Snart?"

Amaya frowned thoughtfully, "Um, maybe?"

"Tall, lanky, really blue eyes, piercing stare, is constantly followed by Mick Rory. He's really burly and large- can't miss 'im." Sara elaborated.

"Wait, hang on..." Scrunching up her face in thought, Amaya paused her walking for a moment. "I_ might_ know who you're talking about. Why?"

"I was just wondering if you knew if he played soccer?" Sara asked, but Amaya shook her head, unsure. "Well, I suppose we'll see, won't we?"

The first soccer practice of the school year started with a group meet. Both the male and female teams had started practices near the end of summer vacation, but this was the first now-in-school meeting. Coaches Hunter and Thawn gathered their two teams. Sara stood on tiptoes, stretching her frame to see over the other's taller heads.

And there he was, in all of his cropped hair, blue eyed glory. He caught her eye, and her stare, and raised an eyebrow. Sara lost her balance and grabbed onto Amaya for support. Her friend gave her an odd look, but Sara was saved having to explain by Coach Thawn beginning his speech.

"Alright, Soccer Nerds!" he yelled. "Who's ready for a great year?!"

The response was loud and instantaneous. AV High's students held a lot of respect for Coach Thawn. Back in him prime, he had been the master of track, but had injured himself when training for the Olympics. He had fallen back on teaching soccer, and, at least according to Laurel, the boys thrived on his coaching, even going on to win finals last year.

Coach Thawn waiting for the hubbub to die down before he spoke again, "Alright, you rabble rousers. This year, we are going to win finals- you girls gotta catch up, and you boys gotta keep your winning streak." Amaya rolled her eyes. "But you know what else we're going to do? We're gonna get in shape, we're going to build our teams, and we are going to have fun and play some_ soccer_! _Now_ who's ready?!"

Everyone cheered, louder then before, and put their hands in the middle. Coach Hunter counted down- "3-2-1- Team AV!"

Sara threw her hand in the air with another loud cheer, and did a back handspring away from the others. She caught Leonard watching her and waved. His now-familiar smirk settled onto his lips, and he turned deliberately and walked away, all without returning her acknowledgement. Sara narrowed her eyes. _Challenge accepted._

2 hours later, Amaya and Sara returned to the girls lockers, sweaty and tired. "Time for me to go home." Sara yawned, doing a final stretch before she grabbed her back. "See ya tomorrow, Amaya."

"Bye, Sara." Amaya waved.

The blond stepped out into the cool, darkening air, and pulled out her phone. Laurel had taken the car when she had gone home, so she had to call her dad to pick her up.

He buzzed back to her text, _I'm coming, will be a little late. Sorry- some things at the office._

_No prob._ She sent back, shifting her backpack to one shoulder so she could slide it carefully onto a bench as she sat down. Her dad, a detective at the SCPD, could get a little distracted with his work sometimes. She could be waiting here for a hour, or five minutes. It all depended on what things were 'At the office'.

Pulling out her math homework, Sara squinted, concentrating on the problems. She had gotten 5 done (though... they might not have been right, she had zoned out during the explanation of the concept) when footsteps started up beside her.

Sara glanced up. "It's you again." She smiled.

Leonard Snart raised an eyebrow. "Hello to you, too."

He slid into the spot beside her on the bench, nothing between them but Sara's giant, overstuffed backpack. They fell into silence, and Sara turned back to her book. But she wasn't focusing on math, more on what to say. "So... you like soccer?"

"Gives me something to do." He responded.

Another silence. Sara wrote down a few numbers and paused again. "How long have you been playing?"

"Since I was little. Just joined a team last year, though."

"Oh, cool. I didn't see you at any past games."

He shrugged. "Don't know what to tell you. I was there. Number 13."

She bit her lip as she thought. Nothing came up, so Sara went back to her math problem with a new vigor. They had actually had a conversation! Things were totally looking up.

Quintin Lance pulled up in his beat up green SUV, honking the horn. "Sara!" He called out. "Don't forget your bag this time."

Sara flushed. "That was _one_ time, dad!" She hissed, shooting an embarrassed look at a smirking Leonard. She gave him a wave and slipped into the passengers seat.

"Who was that?" Detective Lance asked, giving the boy a suspicious look.

"No one." Sara deflected quickly. "Just Leonard Snart. He's on the guys' soccer team."

Even her father, protective as he was, couldn't possibly argue with that.

**Author's Note: Might not have been the ****_best_**** chapter ending, but that's alright.**

**How're you all liking it so far? Also: Have you caught my teacher references? It's really fun going through all the adults/leading figures that aren't also parents and picking jobs for them. Unfortunately, I'm going to run out eventually, so not ****_every_**** teacher will be able to be someone from Arrowverse. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Time for more character development! I hope you have all enjoyed seeing my transfers from adult to kid while still keeping some of their current problems and situations.**

Winn had decided that he had no luck with girls. The biggest, longest, strongest (really _only_) crush he'd ever had was on Kara Danvers. He had met her when he was seven years old, the two of them sharing a table at lunch and talking for the first time. Winn thought it was possible that he had fallen in love with her right then- her and her glasses and shiny blond hair and happy, innocent smile.

Last year, he had told her how he felt. He had probably cried during that week more then any self respecting guy (or girl) should have, but when Kara just shook her head sadly and told him she was sorry, it had felt like his heart was being squeezed by Kaa the Snake.

He was mostly over it now, only finding himself staring every once and awhile, and putting it off as zoning out at the same time as looking in Kara's direction.

But now... there was Mon-El. He had been in one class with Kara. _1\. Class. _And had still managed to steal her heart, a feat Winn had tried for for _9 years _of classes.

Wow.

9 years?

Holy smokes. Time sure flew when you had an unrequited crush.

Winn sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He truly was in a hopeless situation. What other females did he know? Beside Alex (because she was Kara sister, scary, and also happened to be gay), the only other girl he knew well was Felicity Smoak. Not only did he have no interest in her romantically, she now had this new infatuation with Oliver Queen.

...Not that she had used those words, or even told him so. Contrary to popular assumption, Winn could actually read people. Like he could read that Felicity wasn't the only one with a new crush.

And that brought him back to Mon-El.

Tall, broad shouldered, handsome, charming Mon-El, with a smile and sparkle in his eye that could have any girl he directed at it melt into a pile of adoring goo. Even Kara. Especially Kara, because most of the time, those looks were directed at her.

They shared an astronomy class, a math class, and a history class, and Winn didn't see how Kara could still be at the top with how many shy, bashful smiles she was shooting at Mon-El the whole time. It was kind of sappy, kind of disgusting, and also kind of cute.

Winn sighed heavily, tuning back into Snapper Karr's (Mr. Karr, as they were supposed to call him) lecture about showing, not telling. He scribbled on a piece of paper, and flicked it carefully unto Kara's desk. Her eyes shot to him, then down to the paper. _Didn't we learn this with Mrs. Grant already?_

Kara's lips twitched with the start of a smile. She used the small space that was still available and picked up a pencil, then balled up the paper and tossed it neatly into his open hand. The paper had to disappear for a moment as Snapper glanced over, but then his gaze went back to his lecture paper, and Winn opened up the note.

_Yeah, but nobody was listening the first time, so he's got to do it again._

Raised his eyebrow in her direction, Winn flipped the paper over and sent it back to her desk._ Not true. All the teachers here just think we're imbeciles._

Kara snorted, then covered it up with a cough. Snapper looked up again. "Something _funny_, Miss Danvers?"

"No sir." Kara squeaked, eyes glued to his face, her cheeks turning red. "I just have, um, allergies."

Snapper gave her a long look, his eyes staying on her's until the last possible moment, when they fell back down to his page. It was probably supposed to be threatening. It _was_ threatening. Kara wrote back anyway.

_I liked Mrs. Grant._

_You were literally the only person in the class who did_. Winn scribbled. Kara read the note, shrugged, and stuffed in her pocket. Winn wrinkled his nose, and, with nothing better to do, started listening to Snapper.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Julian was staring _again_, and he was starting to get very annoyed with himself. It was just that she was so darn beautiful, his eyes started wandering and he just couldn't help himself. The way her brown hair tumbled down her back, it's gently curled strands shimmering in the light as she moved. The way her teeth played with her lower lip as she listened intently to Professor Stein prattle on about relative theories and his obsession with Einstein. The way her eyes sparkled with an inner interest that only she could seem to manage to get just right. The way her shirt twisted over her as she turned and-

Oh no.

Looked at him.

Julian turned purple with embarrassment, and gave her a sheepish smile. Caitlin raised an eyebrow. _Okaaaaaay_... her face seemed to say._ What's with you?_

He just smiled a little more, shrugged, and quickly looked away. _Focus focus focus focus. What was Stein talking about, again? Relative theory on how to tell a girl you were in love with- no. No NO NO!_

Julian shook his head, hard and blinked a few times. He physically jumped when a foot pressed into his own. He looked up and locked eyes with Caitlin. 'What is up with you?' She mouthed, checking quickly that Stein was too focused on his nerdy-ness to catch them.

'I don't know what you're talking about.' Julian mouthed back. It might have been a bit wordy of a response without speaking, as he realized later, Caitlin's frown giving away that she had no idea what he'd said. 'Nothing.'

'You sure?' Caitlin asked silently, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

'Of course!' Julian broke eye contact, promptly ending the conversation.

He regained his focus and grasp of the content of the lesson after a few minutes, managing to keep his eyes (and mind) far away from beautiful Caitlin and her beautiful smile.

His resolve broke after class was over, and he lingered intentionally, slowly packing up his books so he'd get to walk her out of class. Really, any alone time he got with Caitlin was immensely pleasurable, even if it usually ended in either an argument or some serious blushing, before Cisco jumped in and saved them both from a... situation.

Caitlin gave him yet another suspicious look as he leapt up the second she was done speaking with Professor Stein. "Seriously, what is with you today?"

"Nothing." Julian squeaked. "Nothing is with me. Why would you think that something's with me today? I don't, um..." He trailed off. Caitlin was laughing. "I think I'm going to shut up now."

"Julian Albert." Caitlin said in a mock-serious tone of voice. She shouldered her bag, moving to leave the room. He followed at her heels. "Were you just _rambling_?"

"No...?" He turned red and tried to hide behind his nearly non-existent bangs as he ducked his head down.

Caitlin only shook her head and bit back another smile. Her stomach was butterflying in the most pleasant of ways, and she was quite sure she knew why.

Julian reached the door first and held it open for her. She smiled as she walked past him, her long hair sliding over her face to hide it as her cheeks turned a little red. What was _with_ her today? Julian had been a gentlemen since... well, ever. Holding open the door for girls was just another part of his charm. It wasn't like he just did it for her.

That thought made Caitlin slump a little with disappointment. She had thought that Julian was staring earlier in class... but what if the staring wasn't at her? What if it was just... off into space? And he could have just been rambling because he was nervous around her, and felt awkward, not a crush.

Caitlin was horrified to feel tears prickling behind her eyes. She was not going to cry because of some boy, in the presence of that very boy! She chomped down on her bottom lip, focusing on the pain instead of her crushing hope. Julian _didn't like her_. He had _never_ liked her, and it was ridiculous for her to get her hopes up over some boy she would never have a chance with.

"Are you alright?" Julian leaned over, looking concerned.

She couldn't meet his large blue eyes, probing into her like some scanner that could read your soul. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She muttered hastily. "Hey, I've got a class in a few minutes, I should probably start heading over. Thanks for, um, walking with me."

"Yeah, yeah." Julian agreed, hiding his disappointment. "Yeah, definitely. Later."

"Bye."

Caitlin all but ran out of the room, heart thudding. She got halfway to the bathroom before she started to cry. Someone caught at her arm with a, "Caitlin!" but she shook the person off and bolted into the girls room.

A high schooler already inside was standing at the mirror, reapplying makeup. She gave Caitlin a look, saw her tears, and hurriedly cleared out. Girls weren't great at being compassionate to other girls that they didn't know.

Caitlin leaned over a sink, struggling to stop crying. She caught a figure in the mirror and turned to see Iris. "Hey, girl..." Iris' voice petered out, and she frowned in concern. "What's wrong, Caitlin?"

Caitlin's bottom lip wobbled and Iris held out her arms, letting her friend lean into them and cry. Iris gave Caitlin a squeeze. "What's going on? Did something happen in class?"

Caitlin shook her head, tears streaming down her face and into Iris' shirt. "N-No, it's- It's Julian."

Iris nodded in understanding, "What did he do?"

"_Nothing_." Caitlin croaked. "He didn't do anything, and that's the problem-" She broke off for a moment, trying to take deep breaths. Iris rubbed her back soothingly, still concerned. "I- I just... It's so_ confusing_."

"High school is, hon." Iris soothed, handing Caitlin a paper towel so she could wipe her face and blow her nose. "Now tell me all about it."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

5 minutes after class started, Maggie Sawyer walked into the room. She gave Professor Wells an apologetic smile. "Sorry I'm late, I-"

"Just sit down." Wells told her calmly. He wasn't a particularly strict teacher, but the class respected him.

Maggie winced, embarrassed for interrupting the class, and slid into an empty seat beside Alex. "Hi."

"Hi." Alex said back, cheeks turning pink at the attention.

She had met Maggie yesterday, when the new girl had taken a seat at Laurel and Alex's lunch table.

_Flashback:_

_"__Hi!" Maggie greeted, sliding into an empty seat and placing her lunch trey on the table. _

_"__Hello." Laurel smiled in a friendly manner, "You must be Maggie? I'm Laurel."_

_"__What is it about being the new kid that causes everyone to know your name?" Maggie wondered allowed, but she was smiling, too. She turned to Alex. "Sorry, don't know your name."_

_"__Oh, right." Alex turned red and stuck out her hand. "Uh, I'm Alex. Danvers." _

_"__Nice to meet you." Maggie shook her hand and then turned back to her lunch._

_"__So, Maggie," Laurel started casually, ready to find out everything she could about the new kid while she had the chance. "Where are you from?"_

_"__Massachusetts." Maggie responded. "Not super far away. But before that we came from West Virginia, so I honestly prefer this move."_

_"__Do you move around a lot?" Alex asked curiously. She had only moved once, when she was really little, but she remembered her mother telling her that she had been very upset to leave her home and her friends. Now, though, she was glad. If she hadn't moved, she never would have met Laurel, Sara and Thea, and they were 3 of the nicest people she knew._

_"__My dad's in the military." Maggie explained. "I've moved from California to Hawaii to Washington to West Virginia, and now to here."_

_Laurel nodded, impressed. "Wow. I've never even been out of the state."_

_Maggie laughed lightly. "Honestly, I think I'd prefer that."_

_"__I moved once." Alex added in. "I can imagine it's tough to do so when you aren't 3, though."_

_"__Yeah." Maggie nodded in agreement. "It's tough leaving your friends, and I had been in West Virginia for a few years, too. My girlfriend and I had to break things off, because she wasn't ready for a long distance relationship like that."_

_Alex immediately perked up, and Laurel tilted her head. "Girlfriend?"_

_Suddenly, Maggie looked self conscious and defensive. This was obviously a tough subject for her. "Uh, yeah. I'm gay. Is there something wrong with that?"_

_"__No, no!" Alex said hastily. _

_"__Actually, Alex is gay." Laurel put out helpfully, ignoring Alex's look. "And my sister's bisexual."_

_"__Oh." Maggie nodded, looking considerably more comfortable. "Ok."_

_End Flashback_

"Hey." Maggie waved in front of her face. "You in there?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry. Zoned out." Alex carefully averted her eyes, focusing back on the lesson as Professor Wells continued his chemistry lesson.

"For the majority of the year, we will be completing projects in 2 person groups. I would assign partners, but I have learned from experience that I get considerably less complaints if I let you all pick who you work with." The class shifted at this news, people exchanging glances as they prepared who they would ask to be their partners. "Once you have found a partner, please arrange yourself so you are sitting next to them. Let's try to make this as easy as possible, please."

Swallowing nervously, Alex turned to Maggie. This could be her chance at getting to know her better, something she _really_ wanted to do.

"Hey, you-"

A cute senior cut her off by leaned in between them. He flashed a grin at Maggie and gave her a nod. "Hey, beautiful. Want to partner up?"

Alex's heart sank and she slouched down in her chair. Gay or not, Maggie was sure to go with someone with obvious popularity and confidence to spare.

But Maggie just smiled. "Actually, Alex and I are already partners. Thanks for the offer, though." She pushed around the boy to pull her chair closer to Alex's, letting the boy know that there wasn't really any room for discussion.

Alex stared at her with wide eyes, her mouth a little open. Maggie nudged her. "You planning on catching flies in there, Danvers?"

"Wh-what?" Alex stuttered, promptly shutting her mouth. "No."

"I hope you don't mind I kind of just forced you into partnering with me." Maggie winced, looking apologetic. "He just really seemed like the kind of guy that wouldn't do any of his side of the work, and would spend his time trying to ask me out."

"But... you're gay." Alex muttered awkwardly.

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that." Maggie grinned at her, bumping their shoulders again. "Sorry, guess you're stuck with me."

"That's fine." Alex bit her lip, trying to fight her smile. Not that she would tell Maggie, but that was actually perfect.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

"Is it too early to start thinking about Homecoming?" Thea asked thoughtfully as she sipped on her homemade power-smoothy.

"Yes." Iris told her bluntly. "Definitely."

Sara shrugged. "I mean, you can _think_ about it, that doesn't do any harm. But I think it might be a little early to start looking for a date."

Kara, sitting with them today, giggled. Thea gave her a look. "What? Dates are important."

"Not if you're not going." Kara said with a smile.

Iris gave her a horrified glance. "But- But you _have_ to go! It's the social event of the Fall!"

"Exactly." Kara twisted awkwardly in her chair, not liking the attention. "In case you've noticed, I'm not exactly social, Iris."

Sara took a gigantic chomp of her sandwich, shrugging, and mumbled through her food. "I don't really like dances. But I go because I won't hear the end of it from these two and Laurel if I don't."

"Who's Laurel going with?" Thea asked.

"Us, I guess." Sara shrugged. "She's, as she puts it, 'Currently open to new relationships, but mostly just single'."

Iris snorted into her water bottle. "That sounds like her." She gave her friend a curious look. "Why do you ask? Got your eye on someone you want to ask you out?"

"Or who you'll ask out?" Sara added.

Thea looked affronted. "Uh, hello? The girl does_ not_ ask out the _boy_." She huffed.

"You're avoiding the question." Iris noticed, raising an eyebrow. "What are you hiding, Thea Queen?"

Thea rolled her eyes, turning a little pink. "Nothing. I wasn't avoiding the question, anyway, I was just telling Sara how things are done."

"Still avoiding the question..."

"Roy Harper, ok?" Thea blurted. "I want Roy Harper to ask me."

"Roy Harper?!" Iris spluttered.

"Shhh!" Thea clapped her hand over her friends mouth and looked over her shoulder to make sure no one had overheard. "I don't want the whole school knowing, Iris! Geez!"

Iris wrestled away from the hand, making a face. "Goodness, my apologies. I was just surprised. Did you not hear what I told you about him being a total bad boy and to -and I quote!- 'Not mess with him'?"

"I know, I know!" Thea protested, still looking nervously around. "I know. I don't really care, though."

Kara tilted her head to the side, "Who's Roy Harper?"

As Sara pointed him out, using _very_ discreet (not) finger pointing, while Thea spluttered and tried to stop her, a new figure came and placed her lunch bag on the table. Iris immediately turned to her. "Hey, Cait. How are you doing?"

"Better, thank you." Caitlin said stiffly, opening up her salad.

"Where's Julian?" Iris asked delicately, not wanting to upset her more then she obviously still was.

"I told him and Cisco I needed some girl time and that they could eat with Barry." Caitlin responded. "I just... I can do class, but I can't do lunch. Not today."

Iris rested her hand on her knee and squeezed. "Hey, I get it." She smiled gently. "And if you want my opinion, I think Julian _does_ actually like you-"

Caitlin abruptly moved her knee away and her face was briefly hidden by her curtain of hair. "I appreciate it, Iris."

"But you don't want to hear it. I get it, Caitlin, I do." Iris finished, and stopped talking.

A few moments later, the table number went up by one again. A male with boy-band good looks rested his tray lightly on the table and glanced down at Kara, who was staring up at him with her mouth slightly open. "Uh, mind if I sit here?"

"No, no!" Kara hastily moved her sweatshirt off of the seat and attempted to pull it out for him. It toppled over instead, and the people at the tables nearest to them looked over. "Um, sorry." Kara blushed and leaned over to pick it up.

The boy was faster and was sat down in his seat before she could do any more damage. "Thanks." He said, grinning in a heart stopping manner (for Kara, anyway).

"Care to introduce us, Kara?" Thea asked, giving the boy a quick smile.

"Uh, right!" Kara squeaked, dropping her sandwich. It just missed her tray and fell into her lap. She hurried to pick back up, crust crumbs flying.

Sara placed a hand on her shoulder. "Whoa girl. Calm down."

"Sorry." Kara took a breath. "Uh, guys, this is Mon-El. He's in my astronomy class."

"The new boy!" Thea exclaimed, looking him up and down. "From Alaska."

Iris nudged her, and leaned so she could whisper in her ear. "Stop it, Thea, that's weird."

"Yep!" Mon-El grinned. "Yeah, all the way from Alaska. Trust me, you guys are all going to be complaining about winter, and it is going to be a walk in the park for me!" He seemed to realize the comments wasn't as funny as it had been in his head when only Kara let out a giggle. "Uh, anyways... thanks for letting me sit here."

"No problem." Iris said. "You're welcome anytime, but be warned, the conversation often strays into territories that most boys aren't comfortable with."

"Oh." Mon-El shifted, already feeling the uncomfortableness as he suddenly realized he was indeed the only boy at the table. "Right."

"But we're glad to have you here!" Sara added quickly, not wanting to come off as unfriendly. "We invite anyone that can speak, and even those who can't."

"So in other words... everyone." Thea muttered, shaking her head.

"Yeah!" Sara nodded in agreement.

By the end of lunch, however, Kara didn't blame Mon-El if he never came back to sit with them. Thea, Sara and Iris absorbed themselves in a conversation filled with referenced and gossip that neither of them understood, and Caitlin wasn't much of a help in starting a conversation. She stared at her plate and picked at her salad, looking miserable. That left Kara and Mon-El to awkwardly try and keep up a conversation, which didn't go very well.

Kara was glad to leave the lunch table, her face so red that she was pretty sure it might never return to it's normal color. If Mon-El hadn't thought that she was a total weirdo from their encounter at astronomy class the other day, he _definitely_ did now.

**Author's Note: I hope you are enjoying so far! Tell me below who your favorite character is ;)**

**It's weird, writing angst. I'm ****_so_**** not used to it- part of it is kinda fun :) I hope that you angst lovers are enjoying!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Ready for more? I sure am!**

The next few weeks of school passed in the same way they did in schools just about everywhere. They were busy and hectic, filled with an overwhelming amount of homework and stress until the kids got into a rhythm and moved out of "Summer Vacation Mode".

Things settled into a groove. Even the people at the lunch tables began to settle into the groups they would most likely stay in for the rest of the year, or at least the semester. Even Thea, Sara and Iris' table developed a pattern of people. The usual crowd was Caitlin, Cisco, Julian, Kara, Mon-El (who still hadn't given up yet), and Barry, who had decided that he wanted to sit with his girlfriend instead of work on homework during lunch like he had most of last year.

Then one day, Thea _wasn't_ at the table. Iris and Sara looked around for her, even checking the lunch line to see if maybe she had forgotten to bring food from home and had sunk to school-lunch lows.

They finally found her at a corner table, sitting with none other then Roy Harper himself. Sara's jaw physically dropped, and she stared. "What is she doing over there? She _always_ sits over here!"

Iris let out a sigh and slumped into her chair, shaking her head. "She's really going to try to convince him to take her to Homecoming, isn't she?"

At her table in the corner, Thea was completely oblivious to her friends' concern for her seating choice. She was working very hard, attempting to get Roy to carry on a conversation with her.

When she had sat down at his table, Roy had looked up from his meal and given her a hard stare. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sitting with you." Thea said, smiling sweetly as she plopped into a seat and opened up her mac-n-cheese.

"Why would you do that?" He asked flatly, not looking touched or honored or even like he had an emotion to spare at all.

"Because I want to get to know you." Thea smiled wider and leaned foreword. "You interest me, Roy Harper. That takes a lot."

"How do I get you _un_interested in me?" He asked, unblinking and completely _not_ joking.

Her smile turned to a frown, and her fork fell back down to her noodles. "Um... excuse me?"

"Look." It was his turned to lean closer, but he did it in a way that seemed more intimidating that conspiratorial. "I'm not interested to get to know you, ok? I'm not interested in getting transformed into a social butterfly and going to dances and parties and other people's houses. I'm not interesting in finding friends." He stood up and picked up his tray, knocking his seat in towards the table with a thunk. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not interesting in _you_."

"B-But-" Thea stuttered as she watched him stomp away. Her face fell, and her hand flopped back into her lap.

A few moments later, Iris and Sara sat down, one on either side. Iris shook her head sadly. "What did I tell you? You need to give up on Roy Harper."

Thea glanced up, but instead of looking upset, she had a new determination on her face. "Give up? If anything, that just made me want to try harder."

As Iris tried do protest, Sara glanced at her hands. "I know what you mean." She murmured.

Sara had her own hand love-life problems, problems that she hadn't shared with _anyone_\- even her sister. She was seeing Leonard a good 3 to 4 times a week, whether after soccer practice, around the halls, or after school with Mick. He was intelligent, witty and calm, traits that Sara really actually liked in a guy.

Most people didn't see the side of Sara that was calmer. She could be smart, she could be caring, she could be less like a dumb blond who's mind was only filled with sports. Leonard got to see that side of her, even if he didn't know how special that was. Their conversations were easy and flowing, their silences comfortable and natural, like they had been friends for ages, instead of just a few weeks. Still, Sara didn't feel as if she was learning much about Leonard.

He tried to be tough, and managed it most of the time, but she could see the vulnerability in his blue eyes when he smiled at her (a rare occurrence, but a nice one). He would walk her to her car every evening after school, sit with her on her bench when her father was late, and even sometimes carry her bag without her asking.

One thing she _did_ know about him was that he didn't like to talk about himself. Whenever Sara would ask about his family, his parents, siblings, pets, he would shut himself up like a clam and ignore all of her attempts to apologize and start again. Sara started to learn what topics were good to bring up, and ones that she should steer away from to keep him talking. She didn't even know his favorite color (though she had a feeling that it was blue, for some reason). The only fact she learned about him was that he liked the cold, and played 3 seasons of sports like her- except his were soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse instead of soccer, basketball and lacrosse.

One evening, after a particularly intense practice, Sara got a call from her father that he was going to be especially late this evening. _'I'd have Laurel come and get you, but she's at Alex's tonight.'_

_'__That's ok.' _Sara texted back, sighing as she did so. It was chilly outside, and she was sweaty and gross and it was a Friday, so she just wanted to go home...

"What's wrong?" Leonard asked. He usually didn't talk on their walks to the bench, except for the occasional mention of the weather or something they had been taught in soccer that evening.

"My dad's going to be extra late today." She gave him a quick glance. "You don't have to wait, if you've got somewhere else to go."

"Nowhere in particular is calling me right now." Leonard said with his trademark smirk as he slung himself over a school bench to wait with her.

Really, it was just his way of saying that he didn't mind waiting with her. Leonard talked in a strange fashion, usually hiding what he actually saying and covering it up with snark and unfeelingness. Sara had been getting pretty good at interpreting it, and Leonard knew it. It actually surprised him how _well_ she could read him- almost as well as Mick could, and with quite a lot more compassion then the burly senior.

"Well, good." Sara nodded, plopping her backpack down on the ground and sitting down in the same careless fashion. "Because having you here makes the wait much more interesting."

"I'd offer to drive you home, but I don't have a car." Leonard snarked, pulling out his water bottle and taking a long sip.

"How _do_ you get home?" Sara asked, nose wrinkled. "I've never seen anyone pick you up, and I can't imagine that they are later then my dad." She snickered at her own joke, loving to tease her father on his forgetfulness.

Leonard shrugged. "I walk."

"Seriously?" Sara looked up at him, still drinking from his water bottle. "How far away are you?"

"About a mile." Leonard told her.

"A _mile_?" Sara spluttered. "After a full day of school _and_ soccer practice?!"

"Well, not everyone's father is willing to pick them up after school every day." Leonard snapped, his face going red. It was a sure sign that he was upset, an emotion Sara didn't usually see on him. She shut up and pulled out her own water bottle as something to do.

Their silence was awkward now, for the first time, and it made Sara way more upset than it should. She rested her chin on her hand and stared into the grass, not looking at Leonard, distracting herself with thoughts of how much homework she had to do when she got home.

Unexpectedly, Leonard made the first move to apologize. "I'm sorry." He murmured, hand brushing against her own as he leaned foreword, trying to see her face. "I shouldn't have gotten mad. It's just... a tough subject for me, to talk about my father. We don't exactly have the best relationship."

It was the most she had gotten out of him about his family life yet, but the news unnerved her. "It's ok." She said simply. "I'm sorry I pressed it. I guess I just don't know you that much, and I want to, really, I do. I feel like I need to know a little more about you if... _this_ is going to go anywhere more then just acquaintances."

Leonard glanced down at her on the word "this". "Oh, so we're acquaintances, now?"

"Well, duh." Sara squinted at him, trying to figure out if he was joking. He didn't seem to be. "I mean, dude, you carry my bag, sit with me the _entire time I wait after school_, and listen to _every single one_ of my rants about teachers_. _You got a better name for that?"

He smirked. "How about friends?"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

After Saturday's movie, Felicity was in a high of excitement. Her time with Oliver and John had been just short of amazing, complete with popcorn and even some time _alone_ with Oliver. Even though it was only a few minutes, while John was getting the popcorn. And another few when he was in the bathroom. Hey, she would take what she could get.

She had been spending more time with John and Oliver then she was with her own classmates, but Felicity didn't mind much. She enjoyed the boys company, even if they were a year her senior and at times liked to randomly tackle each other and wrestle. But they were _boys_, so what could you expect?

She got to know Thea, Oliver's sister, a bit better, too. Thea was a nice enough girl, though a little too concerned about clothing and who was dating who to have much in common with Felicity. They talked anyway, short, slightly stiff conversations about teachers and classmates, before Oliver would steal her away again for some new outing with John.

Felicity learned that John actually liked to be called Diggle, or Dig, but she continued to call him by his first name. She wasn't particularly used to the whole "Last Name Basis" thing, even if it _was_ more a nickname. Diggle was large and unusually quiet, and he liked to tease Oliver and her to no end about each other and just about everything else. He knew that they liked each other. Diggle seemed to know _all_.

After school, Felicity would start lagging behind her classmates, waiting at her locker while streams of students flooded away from the building. She would wait for Oliver and Diggle to come down the steps to her floor, and would smile and latch onto their conversation. It had started out as awkward, Oliver would always give her a surprised and pleased smile, and the boys would stop their conversation, but they began to expect her after school now. And Felicity, for one, would look foreword to it.

She had her own car, and her own license, her mother much too busy to come pick her daughter up from school. Her waitressing job went until 7:30 every day except Mondays, and Mondays were her community college class days. It was Felicity's job to drive herself home, get some homework done, and have dinner ready for her tired mom to eat with her before she crashed in bed, and Felicity went off to do more homework. It had been their routine since Felicity was 11, her mother considering that to be a suitable age to be at home without a babysitter.

On weekends, Felicity would get together with a small study group of friends: Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, Julian and Winn. The five of them would go over math and science homework for the weekends, getting it done much faster then they would have alone. Felicity had attempted to get Oliver and Diggle to come, but since they didn't have the same homework, and were both a year older, they felt a little weird joining the group who had been working together since 5th grade.

Barry was the speed reader, able to scan through textbooks, understand, and explain all of it in a way Winn and Felicity could get. The two of them and Cisco were the math nerds, though Felicity was the only one in Senior level math. Winn's foster mom didn't want him to get to math that was too advanced, and Cisco was too invested in science to care as much.

Caitlin and Julian had spent much of the latest meet-ups with Julian trying to engage Caitlin and her carefully avoiding his gaze. Felicity had no idea what was up with them, and Cisco didn't seem to notice anything wrong, so it might have just been her. It was entirely possible she was seeing things, or maybe this was a new kind of flirting? Was Caitlin playing hard to get?

"What'd you guys get for question three on the chemistry pop quiz last week?" Caitlin asked, lying on her stomach on Felicity's living room carpet and swinging her legs up in the air.

"There was a pop quiz?" Felicity frowned, looking over her notes.

"He must not have given in to you guys. We all know how forgetful that dude is." Cisco wrinkled his nose. "Lucky."

"I don't think it's proper to call Professor Stein a "dude", Cisco." Caitlin said, shaking her head, in parts amused and horrified.

Cisco only shrugged, using his pen to draw doodles of the Deathly Hallows Symbol on his arm. Winn nudged him, "Dude, you're gonna get ink poisoning."

"From a pen?" Barry frowned. "I don't think that's actually a thing. Maybe from sharpie."

"Or we could all just get high from the fumes." Cisco rolled onto his back, holding his chemistry book above his head so he could still read it. A few seconds later, his arms got too tired and the book crashed back down onto his face. "Owwww..."

Felicity snorted with giggles, and even Julian cracked a grin. "You're such a dork, Cisco." She said fondly.

Cisco mumbled something from underneath the pages, and Julian leaned foreword to pluck the book back up off of his face. "What's that, mate?"

"Just saying that I answered helium on question three. I've got no clue if that's right, though."

"It was a perfectly easy question." Julian said pompously. "You would have known the answer if you had studied last night, like he told us to."

"Well, Minecraft was calling, dude." Cisco shrugged, not at all offended at the jibe at his intelligence.

"Wait, so what did you get?" Caitlin was looking even more concerned now. "Because I answered hydrogen, but maybe that wasn't right-"

"If it wasn't, we're both wrong." Julian assured her with a smile. She immediately dropped her gaze to her hands. Felicity was the only one watching when Julian's shoulders slumped.

She narrowed her eyes at them. "Alright- I'll bite: What's with you two?"

Caitlin's gaze got up to meet her's first, her eyes wide and nervous. She shook her head, short and fast. "Nothing is with us, Felicity, what are you talking about?"

Now Barry, Cisco and Winn were all sitting up and watching them. Cisco tilted his head to the side. "Yeah, now that you mention it Felicity, they've been acting a little kooky around each other."

"Kooky?" Julian's back straightened, defensive. "What on earth is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I dunno." Cisco shrugged lazily, and flopped back down to the carpet. "You haven't been flirting as much and stuff."

"Flirting as much-" Caitlin spluttered, choking on her own words. "We- we never- _flirted_-"

"That wasn't- we never-" Julian protested at the same time, cheeks flushing red. "You don't think we- I don't like her like that! She's my friend!"

"Yeah." Caitlin's voice was flat, a sudden calm settling back down over her. "Yeah. We're friends."

Felicity wasn't looking convinced, but Barry took that as the end of the conversation. Either that, or he just saw that neither of them wanted to talk about it. "Alright, getting back to science, I'm sure that your answer was correct, Cait. No offense, Cisco."

"None taken, dude." Cisco grinned. "I'm pretty sure I topped Felicity in that geometry quiz, anyway."

Felicity's mouth dropped down a few inches. "You did _not_! What are you talking about? I _totally_ got a 100, plus bonus points."

"I don't understand why teachers like pop quizzes so much, anyway." Winn grumped, throwing himself back on the couch and starting on a new math problem, Felicity reading it over his shoulder so she could work on the same one. "It's not like anyone gets good scores except the real nerds, and the teachers already know who those guys are. I mean, what's the point?"

"The point is to stress us out and make us think that we are all dumb." Cisco muttered pessimistically. "I swear, the teachers are all out to get us."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Friday night's were a quiet affair at the Danvers' house. Eliza got pizza and roped her two girls away from homework with the tantalizing smells of cheese and dough to watch a movie. It was a time for family and blankets on the couch and chilling out after a long week for all three of them.

Until the night Kara said she couldn't join in. "I'm sorry- I've got plans, and this was the only night that worked!" She cried, feeling guilty. "C'mon, Alex, if it was Maggie, you'd miss movie night too!"

As Alex turned red, Eliza frowned. "Who's Maggie?"

"Just a girl who Alex likes." Kara explained, ignoring her sister's protests. "And who totally likes her back, by the way."

Alex went silent at that, and turned to her sister. "You... think she likes me back?"

"She was _totally_ staring when she came over to "study"," Here, Kara put in dramatic quotation marks with her fingers, causing her sister to glare. "And anyway, you said she pretty much shoved a guy out of the way to ask you to be her partner, so-"

Eliza frowned. "What?"

"No, it wasn't like that..." Alex groaned, face even redder. "Some guy asked_ her, _but she wanted to be my partner instead-"

"So she shoved him aside!" Kara finished. "Exactly."

Eliza shook off the conversation, deciding that she didn't want to know. "What are your plans, Kara? At least tell me it's with a boy I know." She frowned for a moment. "Because, unless you too are suddenly gay- which would be fine, I'm in support of whatever you decide- comparing someone to Alex's relationship with Maggie-"

"We don't _have _a relationship-"

"Would mean that it would be a boy." Eliza finished, speaking over her daughter.

"Thanks mom, but I'm not gay." Kara grinned. "Yeah, it's a boy... but not one you know, probably. I'm sorry! He's from Alaska, he's new to our school. His name's Mon-El."

"He's a great kid." Alex put in helpfully. "At least, he _acts_ like a great kid. For all we know, he could be a mass murderer and girl-stalker, about to kidnap Kara at the soonest opportunity-"

"Alex!" Kara protested, aghast. "Mon-El would never kidnap me!"

"Mon-El is an interesting name. Not that names matter." Eliza noticed. "But if you are sure that you'll be safe, and you bring your phone- make sure to text me when you get to... wherever you're going- then I suppose I'll let you go."

Kara beamed at her mother, and wrapped her in a bone crushing hug. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She squealed. "I'll text you as soon as I get to dinner- I don't know where he's taking me either-"

"Dinner?" Eliza's eyebrows rose. "Is this a date?"

"Maybe...?" Kara winced, giving her mother a guilty smile.

"_Yes_, it's a date, stupid." Alex groaned. "He's taking you out to dinner. _Duh_."

"Well, it could be as friends." Kara protested, blushing. "I mean, I don't know if he actually _likes_ me-"

"He does."

"And, I mean, he didn't _pose_ it as a date-"

"It is."

"But I suppose that it _could_ be a date, considering we're both 16, and of opposite genders-"

"Ahem."

"And straight! I was getting to that, Alex, geez. So yeah, I guess it could be a date. Maybe. Possibly. How do you even ask that?"

Eliza placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Calm down, Kara. Whether it's a date or not, you are allowed to go. Just, if it is a date, make sure this is what you want, ok? You know this boy pretty well?"

Kara shrugged. "Pretty well, I suppose. I mean, we're in some of the same classes, and we eat lunch together and I have his number and stuff."

"Ok. Then you go, and you have fun. But you might want to get going because you'll be late."

Kara grabbed her purse and the car keys, and, with promises to text them both when she got to Mon-El's house and the restaurant, disappeared out of the door. Eliza turned to her older daughter, staring into space, her thoughts obviously on Maggie. "Well, I suppose you'll just have to have your sister's brownie, huh?"

"You made _brownies_?!" Alex gaped, thoughts of crushes and drama immediately gone. "Ooh, Kara's gonna be _so_ mad..."

**Author's Note: Wow, we are only on the end of chapter 4, and I'm already at 28 pages! That's pretty insane.**

**I'm hoping all of my writing is accurate- though I would not be surprised if it isn't, considering I'm getting most of this info from my mom and cousins. Ah well, what can you do...? (for real, though. I had to look up the periodic table because I HATE CHEMISTRY and literally blocked it out. I'm cool with Climate Sciences and even biology, but not chemistry or physics or UGH)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I have my ColdCanary plot line all planned out. I'm ****_very_**** excited for it.**

**I'm thinking that the climax of the story will be directly before Prom. You know, hyped up drama of who's going to ask who, and who's even****_ going_****, and then we'll have the Prom and it will be all nice and fluffy and everyone's finally happy. Haha, like you can find that much closure in high school XD **

First day in October, and Iris couldn't believe how fast the month had flown by. Thea was in a tizzy, still not sure if Roy was going to ask her to homecoming, or if she was going to ask him. Sara had been oddly mysterious about who _she_ was going with. Iris had her homecoming date under control. Barry, her boyfriend since freshmen year of high school, had asked her already, 3 weeks before. "I know that we're already dating, but I feel like I should save you the awkwardness of turning down another guy without officially having a date. Want to go to homecoming with me?"

"Very romantic. Sure Barry."

"What are you smiling about?" Thea asked, peering at her friend curiously as they walked towards their first class on Monday. Sara was on Thea's other side, yawning and running her fingers through her hair.

"Just remembering how Barry asked me to homecoming." Iris informed her.

"Ooh, was that last night?" Thea asked, ready for juicy details and a thrillingly romantic story.

"Three weeks ago, actually." Iris grinned at Thea's expression. "He wanted to make sure he had his bases covered."

Sara snorted. "At least he thought to ask." She muttered, glanced around them at the other kids. "I think that you're the only one with a date right now, Iris."

"No, actually, I heard that Amaya and Nate are going together." Thea corrected. She leaned in conspiratorially. "And we _all_ know that Oliver is going to ask Felicity."

Sara frowned, "Oliver and Felicity? Really?"

"Totally." She nodded, very sure. "She comes over all the time now, and they are hanging out a bunch. Granted, Dig's usually there, too, but that's besides the point."

Iris laughed. "That'll be interesting." She murmured. "What about you, Thea?"

"What about me?" Thea suddenly looked very interested in the flyers posted on the wall next to her locker.

"You know what I mean. Who are you going with? There's only a week until homecoming."

"I'm not going with anyone." Thea responded loftily, raising her nose in the air. "Just Sara."

Sara suddenly looked shifty. "Um... actually, I'm already going with someone."

"Who?" Iris asked, peering at her friend.

"It's a surprise?" Sara responded lamely, resisting the urge to hide behind her backpack. Thea and Iris were both immediately on top of her, questions flying out of their mouths.

'Do we know him?' 'Is he cute?' 'Is he popular?' 'Is he in our year?' 'How old is he?' 'How long have you known him?' 'Why won't you tell us who he is?' 'Is he even a he?'

Sara grabbed her books, sent a quick, "Uh, see you guys later!" And fled down the hallway.

Thea crossed her arms sullenly. "I hate it when people don't tell me things."

"Me too." Iris frowned, mirroring the position. Then she brightened. "Don't worry. We'll get it out of her eventually."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Sara wasn't about to bend that easily, though. Two nights ago, on Wednesday, she had been siting and waiting for her father with Leonard at her side. Out of the blue, he started talking. "You going to Homecoming?"

"Yeah, probably." Sara replied, hiding a yawn behind her hand as she watched the sky turn darker. "Thea and Iris force me to go to the dances. I don't really like them much, though."

"Someone ask you yet?" He pressed, looking at the school instead of her.

She glanced over at him suspiciously. "Why? You about to?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Huh?"

Now Leonard looked at her, eyes dark and serious. "Do you want me to ask you to Homecoming?"

"Wait, are you asking me? Or asking me if you can ask me?" Sara covered her face with a groan. "Can't you just make anything simple?"

"Fine." Leonard deadpanned. "Sara Lance, would you like to go to Homecoming with me?"

"Yes. Thank you." Sara nodded, satisfied. "I think that would be rather pleasant. If you don't mind all of the talk afterword."

"Hey, I'm used to rumors." Leonard shrugged. "Can't be that bad."

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Sara said, shaking her head slowly. "When gossip is involved, girls can be_ vicious_."

Still, he insisted that he would like to take her to Homecoming. Sara bit back a grin, surprised at her luck. Since when did boys seek her out to ask her to a dance? Since Wednesday, apparently.

Giggling at the joke she had just made inside her own head, Sara turned her walk into a skip and bounced the rest of the way into her classroom. Kara glanced up from making moony eyes at Mon-El, and gave her a wave. "You look happy today."

"I _am_ happy today." Sara grinned. "Hellooooo, Mon-El of the strange name."

"Hey, Sara of the too-much-energy." Mon-El greeted back, knowing that her teasing had absolutely no malice to it. "How's the bouncy blond today?"

"Bouncy." Sara grinned. "Obviously."

Mrs. Astra called the class to order, and Sara leaned over her desk to tap Kara's shoulder. "Hey."

"What?" Kara whispered back, trying not to attract attention from the teacher.

"Are you and Mon-El going to Homecoming together?"

Kara choked on her spit and broke into a coughing fit. Astra raised an eyebrow. "Everything alright, Miss Danvers?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kara coughed. Mon-El, looking concerned, patted her on the back. "Sorry."

Astra just shook her head and turned back to her assignment. "Everyone please turn to page 208 of your math book and complete all the odd problems."

Kara opened her book, now ignoring Sara, who continued to poke her back with a pencil. Before long, Mon-El sent her an annoyed look. "Dude, cut it out."

Sara stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation, and began to work on her math. But math made her think of Leonard (who had helped her on quite a few problems, being a math whiz himself. And a year ahead), which made her think of Wednesday night, which made her think of his Homecoming proposal, which made her think of dates, which made her think of-

"Hey Mon-El." Sara whispered, nudging the boy beside her with her foot. "Are you going to Homecoming with Kara?"

Mon-El handled the question much better. His face just turned as red as his mechanical pencil, and his eyes goggled out at her. "Are we- Am I- _what_?!"

"Are you and Kara-"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you." Mon-El cut her off, glancing at the teacher. "Look, we'll talk about this later, ok?"

Later couldn't come soon enough. Luckily, Kara had a different class all the way across school after Algebra, so she rushed off to that while Mon-El and Sara lingered to talk. "So... are you gonna ask her?"

"I, uh," Mon-El shifted uncomfortably. "I dunno. I guess. She'll probably say no-"

"No she won't, stupid." Sara rolled her eyes. "She's _so_ into you. Ask her! Just make sure not to do it in class. Or public. She might faint- you never know."

Mon-El rolled his eyes, shouldered his bag, and walked away. "Ask heeeeerrrrrr..." Sara called after him, her voice trailing of dramatically as he left the room. "Bye, Mrs. Astra!"

"Goodbye, Sara." Mrs. Astra gave her a tight smile, but Sara was already bouncing out the door.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

"So..." John Diggle leaned his hefty berth on the doorframe to the boys changing room. "You ask Felicity to Homecoming yet?"

Oliver glanced up, his hair flopping into his eyes, shirt halfway off. "Excuse me?"

"If you wait too long, man, someone else is going to snatch her up." Diggle entered the room and patted Oliver's shoulder, smirking internally at his shocked expression. "I'm sure she'd go with you. It's pretty obviously she likes you."

"I know." Oliver sighed. "I just don't know if she likes me enough to carry all the baggage that comes with dating me."

"Man, you're a senior in high school." Diggle rolled his eyes. "You cannot let "baggage" from stopping you from bringing a girl to Homecoming!" He let out a sigh and sat himself down beside Oliver. "Felicity likes you. She knows about your family situation, and your life, and everything that comes with being with you. You like her. You are interested in a beautiful girl, and that's ok, man. Give it a go. If Felicity can't handle it, then you know it's not meant to be, you know? But if you don't try it, you're going to be feeling a sense of regret every time you look at her."

Oliver glanced at the ground, letting out a sigh of his own and rubbing his face with his hands. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll ask her."

"There you go." Diggle clapped him on the back and gave him a hand up. "Now get your shirt on, we need to get to practice."

They walked out to the field together, ignoring Tony Woodward's attempts at starting up a conversation. Tony was one of those boys that had almost nightly one-night-stands with girls for fun, someone who _still_ pushed the nerds around and made "friends" with people just to get more popular. He sucked up to teachers, bullied other kids into completing his homework, cheated on tests, and was just an all around jerk. He _still_ managed to be popular, however, counted as a leader in the group of jocks at AV High. Oliver and Diggle personally hated him.

Coach Merlin, (Tommy Merlin's father and the most strict coach of all time) gave them both nods as they walked up. "Right on time, boys. Get into formation. We're trying out form two- hope you both studied the plan."

Oliver and Diggle fist bumped and walked to their respective positions. John was the linebacker and Oliver the quarterback, a position that he liked. It was a nice feeling of having a team around you that was going to make sure that you didn't get tackled and could get the ball to the end zone. Even if it _was_ just the point of the game.

After a few hours of Coach Merlin's yelling, 3 scrimmages and more game planning, Oliver and Diggle were released back to the changing room. On their way to the parking lot, gear bags slung over sweaty shoulders, Oliver squinted into the distance. "Hey, is that Sara?"

"Like, Laurel's little sister, Sara?" Diggle looked over, too, trying to make out the form. "Looks like it to me."

They changed courses slightly so they could walk over to her, but once they had gotten a few feet closer, Oliver squinted again. "She's with someone."

"Is that... _Leonard Snart_?" Diggle asked incredulously. "What on Earth is Laurel's sister doing with a bad boy like that?"

"Well... she did like me." Oliver joked. Diggle rolled his eyes and shoved his friend in the shoulder.

When Sara saw them, she waved excitedly, then stopped, glancing at Leonard. He seemed to be speaking to her for a moment, and then he turned and walked in the other direction. Sara bounded over. "Hey, dudes. How was practice?"

"What were you doing with Leonard Snart?" Oliver asked immediately, ignoring her question.

"Huh?" Sara's eyes slipped downward. "We were just talking. I don't get why everyone is so disapproving of him- he's a good guy."

Diggle crossed his arms, protectiveness for the innocent junior making him nervous. "I dunno, Sara. Just be careful, ok? I've heard things-"

"Oh, so you listen to rumors, too?" Sara snapped, her face going pink with anger. "Come on, guys, I think I'm old enough to make my own decisions about who I hang out with." She crossed her arms and turned around, stomping off across the field.

"Sara, don't-" Oliver started, but then he stopped to give Diggle a glare. "Now you've gotten her all upset. That's not easy to do, Dig."

A little ashamed, Diggle just kept walking toward the parking lot. "Call me after you ask Felicity to Homecoming, ok?" He called over his shoulder, changing the subject. "Tell me what she says."

Rolling his eyes, Oliver waved his hand and strode over to his car. Thea was waiting outside it, fiddling with her phone. "'Bout time you got here." She huffed. "Art class ended an hour ago."

"Practice went long. You could have walked home." Oliver shot back moodily. He was starting to get nervous, thoughts of asking Felicity to Homecoming making his palms sweat.

"Jeez, grumpy. Anyway, I was talking to someone." Thea turned and waved exuberantly at a slouching teenaged boy, a red hoodie pulled over his head.

"Who's that?" Oliver asked, not liking the way he looked.

"Roy Harper." Thea told him, sounding proud of herself. "Do you know how _long_ it's taken to get him to talk to me like a normal person without him storming away? Like, 5 _weeks_, Ollie."

"Ooh, horrors, 5 weeks." Oliver sent a glare in Roy's direction, letting him know that he wouldn't tolerate any shenanigans regarding his sister.

Thea caught the glare, and threw herself into the passenger's seat of the car, annoyed. Her eyes caught movement along the side of the car as Oliver kicked it into gear. Roy was heading into his own car, but he paused, and lifted his hoody enough to give her a nod.

His words, just before she had run to meet her brother, rang in her head. "Tonight, 6th street. 7:00."

"I'll be there."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Moria walked through the door to find her daughter throwing on a coat. "Hi mom, bye mom, see you later!"

"Where do you think you are going?" Moria asked. "You didn't tell me you had friends tonight."

"Uh, impromptu study group. With Iris." Thea invented quickly, knowing that her mother would simply call Quintin Lance if she used Sara as an excuse. "I'll be back before dinner! Love you-"

Her mother's response was cut off as Thea threw herself out the door and slammed it shut behind her. Moria let out a sigh and dropped her groceries to the ground.

Many years ago, she had stopped trying to understand her daughter and her flights of fancy. Moria knew that they were just too much alike. Going out at 7:00 on a school night, and easily lying about the location, was exactly something Moria would have done when she was a Junior. And considering that she was still alive, she let it slide when her daughter broke the rules a little. It might not have been the best parenting, but it was certainly easier then fruitless arguments about what Thea did in her free time.

Thea ran down the street, long hair blowing in the blustery Autumn breeze as she raced towards 6th street. A few more blocks, and she would be seeing Roy again.

Her hands were tingling with excitement. Roy made her feel alive, and a little bit dangerous, like she was constantly pumped with adrenaline whenever she talked to him. She wasn't quite sure if she was doing something wrong in going to meet him tonight, but when his dark eyes bored into her's, there was no saying no. It just wasn't possible.

Roy was waiting out front of a small coffee shop on 6th Street. He gave her a nod when he saw her. "I wasn't sure if you'd show up."

"Course I did." Thea smiled, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Wouldn't miss some extra time with you."

Roy raised an eyebrow at her forwardness. "What is your obsession with me?"

"_You're_ the one who asked me out." Thea reminded him, resting her weight on one side.

"This- This isn't a date." Roy spluttered, turning red. "I invited you to _talk_, not to flirt."

Thea took a step back, her eyes going wary. "What do you mean?"

"Look." Roy looked like he was going to reach out and touch her, but then his hand stopped halfway to her shoulder and dropped back to his side. "You don't want to get involved with me, Thea. I'm not- I'm not a good person-"

"Who's been listening to rumors, huh?" Thea lit up. She grabbed Roy's hand, tugging herself closer. "I don't care what you've done in the past. What matters is what you do _now_. I'm willing to decide if you are a good person or not by myself, so please let me- Roy? Roy!"

He turned and ran down the street, Thea's calls echoing after him.

Iris received a call 3 minutes later from a very tearful Queen. "C-Can I come over? I- I need some advice, and my mom already thinks I'm there..."

"Of course." Iris answered immediately. Her father, Joe West, was away at a football game. She had been invited, of course, as had Barry, but they both turned the invitation down. Barry didn't like football (not that he would ever tell Joe that) because it was too violent, and Iris just got bored during plays. They both told they they had too much homework and shoed him out the door to have some fun.

Thea showed up a few minutes after she ended the call, black lines of mascara tears running down her face. Iris immediately pulled her upstairs. "Barry, my room's off limits until I say so, OK?"

"Ok!" Barry called back, glued to his homework. "Hi, Thea!"

"Hey, Barry." Sniffled Thea, allowing her friend to push her onto the large blue bed in Iris' room.

"Alright. Start from the beginning." Iris said, pulling up a comfy chair from the window and folding her hands neatly in her lap. "First: Why does your mom think you're here?"

"She thinks I studying with you tonight." Thea dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "My makeup..."

"You can use my to reapply in a second." Iris assured her. "Keep talking. Why did you tell your mom that you were studying?"

"Because I was going to see Roy." Thea pouted. "And I didn't think she'd want me to. But when I got there, it turned out that it wasn't actually a date, and he just wanted to tell me to "stay away from him because he's not a good person" and all of that crud."

Iris rolled her eyes. "Boys." Then she paused. "Wait. You were alone, at night, with _Roy Harper_?! Girl, did you listen to _anything_ I said?"

"Yes..." Thea groaned, fresh tears starting up. "I did, but he asked me, and I couldn't refuse! I'm sorry, Iris! I can't help who I like!"

Letting out a puff of a sigh, Iris took her friends hand. "Look. I don't know what's going on between the two of you. But you are both Juniors in high school. How bad could it really be?"

"I don't _know_." Thea flopped back on the bed, her hair spraying in a brown wave around her head. "He seems to think it's pretty awful, though."

"I'm learning that when I tell you to give up, you just try harder." Iris sighed, smiling fondly before becoming serious. "But listen to me Thea. Just be careful, ok? Know what you are getting into _before_ you get into it."

Thea nodded. "Ok, ok, I'll be careful." She paused and gave her friend a pleading look. "Can I borrow some mascara?"

Laughing, Iris led her over to the makeup.

**Author's Note: Oooh, some drama! Will Roy figure himself out enough to be with Thea? Will Oliver ask Felicity to Homecoming? Are Kara and Mon-El going to be a couple? Find out in the next chapter of AV HIGH!**

**ALSO! PSA! I've had a lot of comments about where the heck Barry is in the story. I need you all to understand something: This might be an Arrowverse High School Au, and I might have posted it under the Flash, but the main characters in the shows just aren't the main characters in this story. Sorry if that's upsetting to people. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Eep! So so sorry I missed my posting date. I don't know why or how I forgot to post yesterday... I mean I was busy but I wasn't ****_that_**** busy. **

**Ah well. Here it is now :)**

The news was all over the school. '_Oliver asked Felicity to Homecoming!' 'Did you hear? Oliver and Felicity are going together!' 'Felicity agreed to go with Oliver to the dance! OMG, are they dating?' 'Honestly, I thought she would just go with Winn or Cisco or something.'_

Felicity had eyes on her from every angle as she walked to class. Winn and Cisco stationed themselves on either side, acting as personal bodyguards from all of the gossip flying around the halls. All of them were glad to get to physics.

"Do you think it'll ever simmer down?" Felicity asked nervously as jealous girls gave her condescending looks. "I just wanted to go and have some fun with Oliver, not blow up the internet with bets on "how long Oliver Queen's new girl faze will last"."

Winn patted her shoulder, stealing a seat on the left before someone else could, while Cisco took the one to the right. "I'm sure it will get better. I mean, it's got to, right? The fact that Cisco was dating Kendra only lasted a week or two."

"Yeah, but so did our relationship." Cisco reminded him. He got a dreamy look in his eyes. "Kendra... she was _so_ amazing."

Barry came and flopped down at their table grouping, giving them all a wave. "Hello. Hey, Felicity, congrats on your Homecoming date. I know Oliver's really excited."

Felicity turned pink, pleased. "Thanks, Barry. I think it'll be fun. If we can actually be left alone."

Barry nodded, opening up his book and taking discreet glances at the people around them. "Yeah, that's rough."

"Just imagine how it'll be when they go to Prom together?" Winn said thoughtfully (and tactlessly), leaning back in his chair.

This time, Felicity's blush was because of embarrassment. "Winn!"

Professor Stein called the class to order, and any gossip and teasing was cut short for the time being. Felicity leaned back in her chair, relieved. She didn't see how movie stars did it. They lived a life under scrutiny 24/7, and here she could barely handle a single _morning_ of stares and mutters.

To her surprise, Oliver himself met her at the door as she left class. He gave her a smile filled with puppy-dog adoration and reached down to squeeze her hand. "How was class?"

"What are you doing here?" Felicity hissed, uncomfortable under all the stares being directed their way. "Don't you have a class?"

"Nope!" Oliver didn't seem to notice, and he walked with her down the hallway so she could exchange books at her locker. "I have a few minutes, and I figured I'd come see how you're doing." He lowered his voice and leaned toward her. "If it's anything like the Senior's hall, I know that it's bad."

"It's the _worst_." Felicity ranted, slouching foreword. "I'm used to being the geek/wallflower that nobody _ever_ notices. I don't curl my hair, I don't wear revealing clothes, I don't wear makeup, all so that I don't attract attention! And now look at me. All I have to do is accept your Homecoming invitation- through texts! How did anyone even find out?- and now I'm- _we're_\- the talk of the school-"

Oliver pressed his finger to her lips, promptly shutting her up as she gazed up at him with large eyes. "It'll pass, don't worry. Stuff like this always blows up the day after, and then it mellows back down to "old news". Once everyone sees that we aren't planning on breaking up anytime soon-"

"Wait." It was Felicity's turn to cut _him_ off, now. "So we're, um, _dating_, now?"

Oliver blinked at her. "I just figured- I mean, you said yes- and I thought- wait, you thought we're going as _friends_?"

"No..." Felicity shifted from side to side, wishing there was someplace a little more private where they could talk. "I just didn't know that, this-" She gestured in between the two of them. "Was considered "dating". Because we haven't been on any, you know, _dates_."

"Easily remedied." Oliver shrugged. "Want to go out with me, Felicity?"

She just gaped at him. "Um. Ok?"

"Great! Text me a time and I'll pick you up." He gave her a final grin. "Now I actually _do_ have to get to class. See you later."

"Bye..." Felicity watched him leave, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. Winn walked up next to her, and she turned to him. "Just when I think I've got all of _this_ figured out, he goes and does something like that."

Winn shook his head in agreement. "Boys, huh?"

"I'll say."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Kara sat down in a poof of books and flowered skirts. She was closely tailed by Mon-El, who seemed to be around her most days now. Caitlin looked up from her book, her usual shadows (Cisco and Julian) nowhere to be seen. "Hello, you two. What can I do for you?"

Kara smiled at her, slinging her bag over the back of her chair. The library was where Caitlin tended to go for free period, and everyone knew where to find her when she mysteriously disappeared for her an hour to read like a wavy haired Hermione. "Nothing really. Just coming to say hi."

"Kara needed a break from my pestering." Mon-El continued, waving at the librarian, David Singh. "But I followed her in here, so she won't get one."

Caitlin smiled. "Pestering about what?"

"He's trying to figure out what tie to wear to Homecoming." Kara said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "He wants it to match my dress. But as I've told him a _million times_, I don't _know_ what dress I'm wearing!"

Caitlin's eyebrows slowly raised up her forehead. "So... you two are going together?"

"Of course!" Mon-El grinned like an overexcited puppy, and turned a lovesick gaze toward Kara. "I wouldn't go with anyone else."

Kara leaned in, whispering loud enough for Mon-El to hear. "Yeah, he won't be saying that the next time he starts arguing with me."

Caitlin laughed outright this time, ignoring the squirm of jealousy in her stomach about their happiness. "I think it's great that you guys are together. Nothing else would seem quite right."

Kara leaned her head contentedly on Mon-El's muscular shoulder, the two of them looking for all the world like a couple in their 20s who had been dating for years, instead of just a few weeks or days.

"So, Caitlin, what about you?" Kara asked conversationally. "Are you going to Homecoming?"

Caitlin looked down, squeezing her hands together. She had been hoping the conversation wouldn't take this route, but it seemed that she was out of luck. "Um... I'm- I'm not sure yet. Probably not."

"So Julian hasn't-" Kara broke off, knowing the answer without asking the question. She patted her friends shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Caitlin just shook her head. "It's not your fault." She said tightly. "I mean, I'd rather he not ask me at all then if he asked me to go as friends or something."

Mon-El looked between the two of them. He opened his mouth as if to ask, but then thought better of it. "Well... whatever's going on between you two, I'm sure that you will figure it out."

It was probably supposed to be comforting, but it just made Caitlin squeeze her hands harder together. "Yeah, thanks Mon-El."

He looked satisfied, but Kara let out a sigh. "We should go. Have a nice, um, read? Yeah, have a nice read, Caitlin."

She shoved him away from the table, whispering explanations and sneaking obvious glances over her shoulder. Caitlin thumped her head down on the table. Why oh why did this have to be so _complicated_?! Julian was just a boy. A stupid, annoying, arrogant, smart... talented... kind... gorgeous... amazing... wonderful...

_Stop it stop it stop it!_ Caitlin slammed her hands down on the table and shot to her feet. She grabbed her books, turned around with new resolve, and smacked right into the guy of her dreams. Quite. Literally.

"Julian!" Caitlin squeaked, dropping every single one of her books.

Julian leapt back, a textbook catching his toe. He hopped up and down for a moment, groaning in pain. Mr. Singh sent both of them a look and shook his head.

"Blimey Caitlin, what did I do?" Julian moaned, rubbing his foot and helping her pick up her books at the same time.

Multiple answers for that ran through her head, none of them quite appropriate for the moment. "Sorry, Julian." She winced, placing her books on the table so that there would be no more unfortunate (and painful) mishaps.

"Quite alright, mate." He murmured, giving her a smile. "Sounds weird, I know, but I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

She looked at her shoes, a little ashamed. "Yeah, well... you know. School. Homework. I've been busy, I guess."

"It's been pretty crazy here, huh?" He looked around the library. "Well, I mean, not _here_, but at school. With all of this Homecoming nonsense and such."

"Yeah." Caitlin laughed nervously. "I just found out that Kara and Mon-El are going together."

"Right, good, that's good." Julian gave a vigorous nod. "I'm not surprised."

She waited for him to say something. Something about dates. About Homecoming. About her. But more in the order of Her-Date-Homecoming.

He didn't. He didn't say anything else, either. She took a breath. "So... are you going to Homecoming this weekend?"

"Uh, yeah, I suppose." Julian shrugged. "What about you?"

Well, at least it didn't seem like he had a date. That brought her some relief. "I don't know. If someone asked me, I suppose." She had turned on the full on hinting now. If he didn't get what she was insinuating after that comment...

Then he would just be like every other boy, she supposed.

"Yeah." Julian nodded. "Yeah, I get that." He gave her a smile. "Well, I will see you at lunch, yeah?" He gave her another quick smile and walked off, only sparing her a short glance over his shoulder.

Caitlin slumped in disappointment, her idea of how exactly Julian liked her becoming more and more apparent.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Alex was sick of trying to convince Laurel that she and Maggie weren't going to Homecoming together.

"I don't even know if I'm _going_, Laurel! Much less with Maggie. I mean, we barely know each other, and I don't even know if she likes me like that."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Alex?" Laurel groaned, slamming her tray down on their lunch table for extra emphasis. "She _totally. Does._"

"Who totally does what?"

Both of them spun around to see Maggie smiling curiously down on them. She took a seat next to Alex, still waiting for an answer.

"Um..." Alex, usually quick with plausible excuses, came up empty.

"Just talking about how Felicity totally likes Oliver." Laurel supplied quickly. "Did you hear they're going to Homecoming together?"

"Who hasn't?" Maggie grinned. "It might as well be in the school newspaper for how quickly the news spread."

"I can't imagine what it must be like for Felicity." Alex shook her head in sympathy. She knew the blond through her sister, who knew her through Winn. "She seems to me like the type of girl that stays away from gossip and too much attention."

Maggie shrugged. "Well, dating Oliver Queen, she knew what she was getting into."

Alex opened up her sandwich as Laurel caught Maggie up on who was planning on going with who to Homecoming that year. She watched the dark haired, beautiful, smart girl beside her and her insides clenched. If she had enough guts, she would ask Maggie. She would ask her to Homecoming, and not even mind if the school talked about them going together. She would _welcome_ it, if it meant that she got to go to a dance with the amazing person that was Maggie Sawyer.

"Hey Alex, you going to Homecoming?" Maggie asked, jarring her away from her thoughts and her frustration.

"What? Yeah, maybe. If Laurel makes me."

Laurel titled her head thoughtfully. "You don't have a date. I don't have a date. Maggie doesn't have a date- Wait, do you?"

"No."

"Good. Well, I mean, not _good_, but good for my plan." Laurel nodded. "We should go together, us three. Maggie and Alex and Laurel, the only senior girls who are too lame to get dates-"

Alex shoved her playfully, and Laurel grabbed onto the table to prevent herself from spilling onto the floor. Maggie burst into giggles, and Alex watched as her entire face lit up with laughter. She was just so _beautiful_-

"We aren't lame. We're just single." Maggie grinned, taking a mouthful of lunch. "And proud of it."

"So? You're in?" Laurel straightened herself upward, looking excited. "Alright them. Sunday night, 2 hours before the dance, my place, and bring dresses and makeup. We are going to _rock_ this."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

It was Friday night, and Thea was in a state of a constant mope. She, Iris and Sara were study-gossiping (in other words, hanging out), and she couldn't stop thinking about a certain bad-boy in a red hoodie with amazing brown eyes.

Roy hadn't been at his normal table during lunch after their meeting at 6th street. Thea had roamed the entire cafeteria looking for him until her friends dragged her back before she lost her seat to the rather large crowd of kids that now sat with them. Throughout lunch, she had been distracted, checking over her shoulder and wishing she was in a seat where she could watch the door. Iris had noticed her antsy-ness and correctly guessed the reason, and Thea was grateful that she didn't bring up their 7 o'clock, tearstained meeting at her house.

When Roy didn't appear all throughout lunch, Thea began to wonder if he was sick, or skipping school or something. She was frantic. Tomorrow was _Saturday_, and if she didn't have a date for Homecoming by _today_, she wasn't going to get one. She needed to talk to Roy.

But no matter how hard she needed to, he didn't show up to lunch. She spotted him in the halls later that day, wandering alone to his class. Just as she had been about to race after him, the teacher called her back inside to talk to her. Unable to disobey, Thea had been forced to turn away from her possible date and her hopes of going to Homecoming with a guy she liked.

Now, sitting in her room with Iris and Sara surrounding her, both with nicely secured dates, it was hard not to feel a little jealous.

"I hate to break it to you Thea, but he probably skipped lunch because he knew that you would be their to cling onto him like a parasitic starfish." Sara told her bluntly, french braiding her long blond hair in front of the mirror.

Thea watched her work, splayed across her bed like the aforementioned starfish Sara knew her to be. "I just don't _get_ it. Most guys would sell their favorite pair of shoes to _ask_ me to Homecoming, much less _be_ asked. What turned him off so horribly?"

"Couldn't _possibly_ be the ego." Iris muttered dryly.

Sara tilted her head to the side, hair sliding across her back. "Guys have a favorite pair of shoes? _I_ don't even have a favorite pair of shoes."

Unable to help herself, Thea burst into giggles. She was closely followed by Iris, and then Sara.

Thea sat up and dramatically fingered her locks, trying to keep a straight face. "Maybe... maybe if I cut off my hair, then he would like me and ask me to Homecoming."

It wasn't all that funny, but Sara shrieked with laughter and collapsed to the carpet, her face turning red as she struggled to breath.

Iris rolled her eyes, but when she spoke, she wasn't laughing. "Seriously though, Thea, you should never change yourself just to attract a guy."

"Yes, I know Iris, I know." Thea groaned, throwing a pillow at her. "But not everyone can get amazing guys like Barry to be their boyfriends just because they acted like themselves."

"Certainly helps when "being yourself" includes being beautiful and smart and perfect at everything." Sara added with a sigh.

"Aw, thanks Thea." Iris simpered, mock-touched. "I love you, too."

Thea squinted at her lifetime best friend. "Since when is being yourself a problem for you, Sara?"

Sara flipped herself on her stomach, smile becoming much more forced. "Since never. What are you talking about?"

"I dunno... it just sounded like that when you were saying all that stuff that Iris is." Thea shrugged. She quickly switched the topic to something that would hopefully help her and Iris in their investigation. "Does your Homecoming date like you for being yourself?"

"None of your business, busy-body." Sara grumped.

"Oh my gosh." Iris gaped at her. "Sara Lance is blushing!"

"Am not." Sara grumbled, hiding her face in the carpet. "But for your information, yes, I think he does."

"Well, the date's a he, at least we know that." Thea sighed. Then she let out a groan. "Come _on_, Sara, _pleeeeease_ tell us? Please?"

Sara stubbornly shook her head, still smothered by the carpet.

Iris let out a sigh. "Ah well. We'll find out on Sunday, won't we?"

"You're gonna be really surprised." Sara glanced up, a devious smirk on her face. "It's going to be pretty awesome."

The other two exchanged quick looks. Iris frowned, a sneaking suspicion of who exactly Sara's date was creeping into her mind and making her nervous.

But as Thea said, they would find out on Sunday.

**Author's Note: Here is the rundown!**

**Oliver/Felicity and Mon-El/Kara are both officially respective couples and are going to Homecoming together.**

**Iris/Barry are going together (of course).**

**Thea/Roy and Alex/Maggie and Caitlin/Julian are still figuring life out. **

**And Sara/Leonard are... Sara/Leonard. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: EEEK THE CHAPTER WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!**

**HOMECOMING!**

The football game was good (even though AV High lost terribly), but when Sunday night came around, cool and clear, everyone knew it was going to a perfect night.

Everyone but Sara.

She had woken up from a dream about a horrible night of dancing in high heels and Leonard turning out to be some sort of evil demon who chased her around the school screaming that he hated her and had just asked her to the dance because he felt bad for her. Sara had bolted upright at 6:00 and had a good long de-stress, complete with yoga and a power smoothy.

Feeling much calmer, Sara spent the day keeping herself busy and distracted and away from her family. She tried to avoid any talk of Homecoming, worried that Laurel or Quintin would ask who she was going with. She wasn't sure if they would approve of Leonard, and she didn't want to risk it. How did that saying go? It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?

By the time 6 o'clock _PM_ rolled around, Sara was out of ideas of how to keep herself occupied. She and Laurel had decided they didn't want to go to the before dinner very much, considering that Laurel, Alex and Maggie were all in Laurel's room "prepping" at 5, and Sara didn't think that Leonard would be there. She couldn't take any more of Thea and Iris' pestering, anyway.

She locked herself in her room and laid out her dress, a long green item with a round neckline and pinched-to-the-side-waist that Laurel had gotten for her a couple of years ago. It was a little small, but not too bad (she really did _not _like dress shopping), and she was feeling a little reckless with the slit that went up the side. She took out her usual ponytail and tried on the dress, practicing spinning around without falling and trying to remember any dance steps she could from her lessons when she was 6.

Once that got boring, Sara messed around with her hair. Unable to settle on one hairstyle she liked, she pulled out her phone, looked up 'ideas for homecoming hairstyles', and chose the first link. Most of them were kind of weird or used a curler (which she was _completely_ inept at), but she liked the last one with its long, messy braid, the models hair about her length and color.

Sara braided her hair over her shoulder and pulled out her layers and a few strands, pancaking out the braid so it was large and loose. Once she was pleased with the effect, she stepped in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection. An unfamiliar, sea-colored eyed girl blinked back at her.

Sara bit her lip, twisting this way and that. Then she took a deep breath, and strode into her sister's room. Alex and Maggie were both seated on the bed, Alex doing Maggie's hair, and Laurel standing in front to do her makeup. They all looked up when she entered.

"Wow, Sara, you look beautiful." Maggie complimented with a smile.

If she had been in a more teasing mood, Sara would have made some flirty comment back. Instead, she just nodded. "Thanks, Maggie. Uh, Laurel? I was, um, wondering if- if you could do my makeup."

Her sister blinked at her for a moment. "You're joking, right?"

Sara wilted. In all of her 16 years of life, she had never- not_ once_\- worn makeup. "I mean, I just thought-"

"I would be honored!" Laurel beamed. "Alex, you finish up Maggie's blush; I've done the rest of it already. Come here, Sara, and let's get started."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Thea and Iris had gotten everything out of Homecoming that they possibly could. They went to the football game on Saturday night with Barry and "the study group" (as Iris called it), along with Sara. The latter was suspiciously dateless, and the two girls positively squirmed with anticipation to find out who had asked her.

After going to bed at around 11, Thea met Iris the next late afternoon at her house to get ready for the evening. Iris was wearing a red dress with a swooping back that Thea instantly said she would have to borrow sometime, and Thea was wearing something sparkly and reddish-pink that probably _shouldn't_ have been called a dress, but somehow was.

They did their makeup in front of a mirror together, gossiping all the while and coming up with ideas for who Sara's date could be.

"I still think it's Leonard." Iris said seriously, applying dark red lipstick to match her dress.

Thea rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you've said that about a million times. I'll say again: when would he have gotten the time to ask her? We've never even seen them together!"

Iris shrugged. "I dunno, Thea. It's not like we're with Sara every second of the day."

She set down her makeup and closed of the compatible case, admiring her reflection.

"You look great, girl." Thea grinned. "Barry will faint when he sees you."

Iris laughed, shaking her curls in amusement. "Let's hope not. I need my date."

They walked down the steps side by side, posing for one of Joe's many pictures. Barry leapt up from the couch. "I- Wow- Iris- You look amazing."

She kissed him briefly. "Thanks, handsome. So do you."

"You guys are disgusting, you know that?" Thea said fondly. "Disgusting."

Iris refrained from making a snide comment about it being better then being single; she knew that injury was still too fresh to poke fun at.

The three of them loaded into Joe's car, and he drove them towards school, taking yet _another_ picture when they were there.

"Dad." Iris begged, shoving him back inside his van. "Really, we need to go."

"I know, I know. You just look so beautiful." Joe said, and Thea could swear he was getting teary. "Have a blast, baby girl."

"Bye, dad." Iris kissed his cheek and dragged Barry off toward the tables set up outside.

Thea followed behind at a slower pace, scanning the crowd and not being at all surprise not to find Roy a part of it. She did, however, see Oliver and Felicity, and waved. "Hey, lovebirds! You look nice, Felicity."

"Thanks, Thea." Felicity blushed, hanging on Oliver's arm like they were a celebrity couple walking down the red carpet. She had on a burgundy dress with a ruffled neckline and short angled sleeves, her hair down and curled. It wasn't overly dressy, but she did, in fact, look nice. And of course, Oliver was wearing a matching red tie over his suit.

(**A.N: And if you are a ****_super_**** Arrowverse geek, you will have noticed that I have now taken ****_4_**** dress ideas from the actual shows. The dress Thea is wearing is from 2x14, Felicity's is from 5x02, and Iris' is from 1x17. Sara's dress is from 1x03, and Kara's will be from 2x05, from Lena's party. I'll admit, I'm not ****_that_**** much a geek, so I used a really cool site that documents all of the Flash and Arrowand Supergirl's outfits from their episodes, and did some research for Sara's. I'll put in the dresses/other outfits that they will wear at the beginning of the ANs from now on**)

Thea left them be quite quickly, realizing that they wanted some time alone in the throng of people. She walked off towards a table to find a seat, and bumped into two _more_ people she knew.

"Mon-El! Kara!" Thea smiled happily at them. "I heard you two are _finally_ together."

Kara turned pink with embarrassment, but Mon-El gave her a smile in return. "Yes, Kara finally agreed to my advances and we decided to go to Homecoming together." He smiled down at her.

"He might not agree to go with me to Winter Formal, though." Kara added, nudging him with a teasing smirk. "Because I didn't give him enough time to get a tie that matched my dress."

Thea looked them over, and tried to fight her laughter. Kara was wearing a pale grayish dress with lacy folds near the bottom, her hair up in a bun. Mon-El's tie was purple.

"Hey, I did my best!" He argued. "You said that it _might_ be purple, so I wore a purple tie! Turns out the dress wasn't purple, though." His mouth twisted into disappointed expression, but he brightened after only a second. "Ah well, at least we don't clash, right?"

He waited for laughter, and Thea smiled politely. That boy really thought was considerably funnier then he actually was.

Kara giggled though, and dragged him off in search of food. Thea continued to look for a spot to sit, but was stopped yet _again_, this time by Julian. He was dressed in an impeccable gray suit, but he looked immensely nervous. "Did you- have you- do you know if Caitlin is coming?"

"Uh, no, sorry." Thea said apologetically. "You didn't ask her?"

"What? Oh, no, of course not." His shoulders slumped. "She doesn't like me like that."

Thea opened her mouth to contradict him, but then stopped. Busybody she might be, it wasn't her place to tell him what Caitlin wanted to be kept secret. Caitlin could do that herself.

"Yeah, sorry. I don't know if she's coming. I think she was only going to if someone invited her," Thea was sad to report.

Julian let out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping more. "Ok. Thanks anyway, mate. I'll keep asking around, though."

Thea resisted the urge to give him a hug, instead turning and finally finding Iris. Her friend waved frantically, one hand saving a seat next to her and Barry. Thea hurried over.

"Look." Iris pointed through a throng of people over to a couple holding hands.

"Is that..." Thea trailed off. "It can't be."

"It's Ray and Kendra!" Iris squealed, giggling behind her hand. "They're totally a couple now!"

"No..." Thea gaped incredulously. "OMG, they are."

Barry rolled his eyes and started eating. "Are you guys going to join me, or are you going to stand their gossiping all evening?"

Only a little bit subdued, Iris and Thea took their seats and grabbed some food from the trays in front of them.

The dance started relatively on time, staff coming out to clear out plates and usher everyone to the gym while a DJ started up the music. For awhile, nobody touched the dance floor, not wanting to be the first ones to dance. Everyone walked around, shouting over the loud music and talking about the newest couples.

Mon-El was the first to make a move. He sidled up to Kara, who was still snacking on some stolen chicken wings from the dinner layout. She sighed in contentment. "I used to dance a lot, when I was younger."

"Me too." Mon-El agreed. He looked down at the top of her blond head, hair shining even in the dim light. "Want to?"

"Huh?"

"Want to dance?"

"Now? I mean, I..." She trailed off, and stuffed the rest of the food in her mouth. "Yeah, yeah, ok."

Grinning, Mon-El grasped her hand and pulled her over to the floor.

Once the dancing movement was started, everyone joined in. Most people weren't ballroom dancing like Kara and Mon-El were attempting too. Thea's moves mostly consisted of jumping up and down to the beat and trying to get a glimpse of Sara's blond head somewhere in the crowd.

She spotted Laurel first, and pushed her way foreword, still bopping to the music. "Hey, Laurel, Alex, Maggie."

"You here alone?" Alex asked in surprise, glancing around as if to check for a date hiding somewhere.

"Yeah." Thea said easily, ignoring the pang of unhappiness that shot through her. "Not the point though." She nodded at Laurel. "Where's Sara?"

Laurel glanced at her watch and frowned. She was dressed in a sliming dark wine-colored dress, her hair curled in tight ringlets. "Um... she should be in here by now. She told me she was waiting for her date near the entrance. I can text her, if you want-"

"No, no, that's ok." Thea smiled dismissively. "For all we know her "date" has dragged her into a dark corner to-"

"Stop, stop, she's my _sister_!" Laurel cried, hands over her ears. "Just- ugh, no. Ok, I'm going to dance. Come on, girls. Let's go rock the dance floor and turn down some boys."

Giggling and exchanging glances, Alex and Maggie hurried to catch up.

Thea sighed and pushed through some more people to get to the entrance. She had lost sight of Iris as well, which meant that she didn't have anyone to go dance with if she didn't find Sara. Once again wishing Roy was there, Thea stepped out of the building.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Sara arrived at the dance when the dinner part was just being cleared up. She sent her sister inside, promising to join her with her date as soon as he arrived. Laurel gave her a raised eyebrow, but then she shrugged and let Maggie and Alex tug her inside. She paced outside the entrance, checking her phone for the eighth time and trying not to feel the makeup caked on her face. People filtered through the doors, girls in dresses and guys in suits, some of them together, some in groups, but none of them Leonard.

After a half an hour, Sara was starting to get bored. It seemed that everyone who was planning on coming had arrived, and the flow of people had trickled down to one really late person dashing into the entrance.

By 45 minutes, she was getting nervous. Her face felt strange and stiff, and she regretted making the decision to get Laurel to do her makeup. She didn't feel like herself anymore. What if Leonard arrived, took one look at her, and decided that this wasn't the girl he had decided to go with? Since when did she start changing her appearance- wearing revealing clothing and eyeshadow- just so that a boy would be impressed? What had happened to her firm resolve to be herself at all times, no matter what the cost?

After an hour had passed, Sara gave up. She flopped to the ground in a heap of tears and green dress, trying to stop crying and not being able to. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. This should have been a fun evening with Leonard where she could show everyone wrong about him, and they could all see that he was kind and special and perfect.

Maybe it was her.

Maybe _she_ was the one that was wrong about him.

Tears flowing faster, Sara swiped at her cheeks, her hand coming away black with leaked mascara. She was about to get up and run for home when Thea walked out of the building.

"Sara?" Her friend rushed over, looking scared. "Sara, what's wrong? What happened?"

Sara sniffled in response, "He didn't- He didn't-" She choked on her tears and Thea hurriedly wrapped her in a hug.

"Ok, ok, you stay here. I'll be right back, I promise, I'm just going to get Laurel, alright? Stay here."

Sara nodded shakily and Thea hurried to her feet, running back into the dance and calling for Laurel the whole way.

It didn't take long for the two of them to return, Laurel's eyes going wide with worry when she saw her little sister. "Sara!" She cried, falling onto her knees and taking Sara's face in her hands. "Oh my gosh. What happened? Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No..." Sara sobbed, pressing herself into Laurel's arms, tears finally starting to slow. "He didn't- Leonard didn't- He showed me up."

Laurel's grip tightened fractionally. "Your date was Leonard Snart?" She asked, sounding more gentle and upset then mad.

Sara nodded into her dress, taking slow breaths to calm herself. "Yes." She whispered. "He asked me on Wednesday, but he didn't show up."

"Ok, come on." Laurel helped her to her feet, giving Thea an apologetic smile. "Thank you for coming to get me, Thea. Would you be able to go back inside and tell Alex and Maggie that I'll see them tomorrow and that I'm taking Sara home?"

Sara pulled out of her sister's arms and whipped around, eyes wide. "What? No! You can't- this was supposed to be a fun night for you! You shouldn't leave just because he- just because my date didn't show." She bit her lip, hard, eyes welling again.

"Hey." Laurel grasped her biceps gently with her hands. "You're my sister. You being ok is more important to me then any stupid dance. And besides," She gave her a half smile. "I'm sure that Maggie and Alex will love the time alone."

She led her sister away from the school and to their car, Thea watching sadly after them.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Maggie and Alex frowned when Thea rushed back in to tell them where Laurel had gone. "Wonder what happened with Sara?" Alex asked, sounding concerned but understanding. She too had a little sister that came before all else. Luckily for her, however, said little sister was having the time of her life dancing song after song with Mon-El.

"Doesn't feel right to be two single people together." Maggie sighed, hands on her hips. "3 makes a coven, anyway."

Alex snickered. "So what? If you're single, that means your a witch? What is this- witch hunting times?"

"Ooh, watch out." Maggie responded dryly. "If you don't get a date, you'll get burned at stake."

Alex exploded into laughter, Maggie joining in after a few seconds, unable to keep a straight face. Thea took slow steps backward. "O-o-o-o-k-a-a-a-a-ay... you guys are weird."

"No-" Maggie wheezed, trying to stop laughing. "We're witches!"

The two of them doubled over, still howling with laughter, leaning on each other for support. When they calmed down some, Thea was gone.

"Guess we scared her away." Alex said, not sounding particularly upset.

"So, Danvers." Maggie held out her hand invitingly. "Wanna dance?"

Alex's eyes got huge, but she reached out trembling fingers and let Maggie pull her onto the dance floor.

They passed by Oliver and Felicity, the latter attempting to teach the former to dance. "Just- ok, stop moving, hang on." Oliver grasped at her hips, pulling her to a stop.

Felicity huffed out an frustrated breath. "See, I told you this was a dumb idea. I can't dance, Oliver!"

"Just trust me for a second, Felicity." Oliver groaned. "Put one hand on my shoulder, right here, see? Just like that." He picked up her hand and placed it for her, letting her fingers wrap a little around his neck. "And you take my hand with yours, like that." He interlocked their fingers, and kept his remaining hand on her hips. "And now you let me lead you, ok?"

"The first rule of being an independent woman." Felicity griped. "_Never _let a man lead you anywhere."

Laughing, Oliver led her anyway. He spun the two of them around, trying to prevent her from tripping in her heels and keeping her from banging into anyone. She was breathless and begging for a break by the time the song was over.

"I've got no stamina!" She groaned. Then her face turned as red as Iris' dress. "That sounded _so_ dirty."

Oliver laughed again and let her pull him away to get water.

A couple feet away, Iris and Barry were also dancing, the two of them a little more smooth and little less ambitious with the spinning. Barry kept smiling gently down at his girlfriend, feeling like the luckiest guy on the planet to have the most beautiful girl in school dancing with him tonight.

They were interrupted by a certain British blond, who rushed up and tapped Barry frantically on the shoulder.

"What?" Barry asked, annoyed.

"Have you seen Caitlin tonight?" Julian asked nervously, twisting his hands together. "Because I've been looking for her all over and I can't seem to find her."

"I don't think she came tonight, Julian." Iris told him gently. "I know she was waiting for a guy to ask her."

Julian nodded and trudged away. He glanced back at the couple, wrapped up in each other and their happiness, and his fists squeezed tighter. Of course Caitlin would have someone that she liked at school already, someone she wanted to go to Homecoming with.

His thoughts froze, as did the rest of him, Caitlin's words running through his head. _I suppose I'll go... if someone asks me_.

"I'm such a bloody _idiot_!" Julian cursed, loud enough to get a few looks. "She meant _me_. How did I not get that she meant _me_?!"

A few feet away, Barry looked over at him with a concerned glance. "I wonder when he'll figure it out?"

"He will." Iris assured him. "Let's just hope that it's before Caitlin gives up all of her hope."

They danced in silence for a little bit, the music slowing down to a song that wasn't quite as poppy and tech-ed over as the last. Iris rested her cheek on Barry's shoulder. "You're the best."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because no matter how much of a gossiping, annoying, drama addict I am, you still agree to dance with me." Iris murmured.

Barry laughed softly, wrapping his arms around her. "You're not annoying."

"But I'm a gossiping drama addict."

"Yeah, sorta."

Iris giggled and nudged him playfully. "Shut up."

"You said it first." Barry protested, kissing the top of her head. "And no matter what you do Iris West, I will _always _dance with you."

"Awww..." The two of them turned lazily around to find Thea standing there, arms crossed. "You two are so sweet it's physically disgusting."

Iris glared at her. "We were having a moment, and then you had to come and ruin it."

"Geez, guys, this is Homecoming, not _Prom_." Thea rolled her eyes. "You gotta save some of your lines Barry, or Prom is going to be a letdown."

"As long as he's there, it won't be a let down." Iris told her loftily. "Now let me dance with my boyfriend."

"Whatever." Thea let out a sigh and walked away, lonely and bored. She checked her watch and glanced towards the door.

No one noticed her departure, except for one young man lurking outside of the building, red hoodie pulled over his head.

**Author's Note: WHEW! Let's see if I got all my ships in:**

**Olicity √**

**Snowbert √ (well, sorta)**

**Sanvers √**

**Theroy √ (again, sorta)**

**Westallen √**

**ColdCanary √√√**

**And once again, the dresses: Laurel- 2x02 Thea- 2x14 Sara- 1x03 Felicity- 5x02 Iris- 1x17 Kara- 2x05**

**I hope you enjoyed, and that I didn't totally mess up what Homecoming is. I really had NO IDEA when I wrote this. :P (and I say when I wrote this because future WTY editing this chapter actually ****_has_**** gone to Homecoming and it lowkey sucked XD)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: We are already on page 48! AMAZING! Thank you to the few who have supported and reviewed; it means the world to me :)**

"Where's Sara?"

Thea let out a groan, having heard that question already 5 times that past morning. It was asked first by Iris (understandable), then by Oliver (why did he care?)**,** then by Kara and Mon-El (they counted as 2), and finally by Alex (couldn't she just ask Laurel?!).

Thea turned to see who who was asking for the 6th time, and her mouth fell open. "Y-_You_!"

Leonard Snart glared back at her, daring her to comment. "Where's Sara?"

"Like you deserve to know." Thea spat. Laurel had texted her the entire story last night, and Thea was outraged on her friend's behalf. "Standing her up like that, like she's nothing but another girl who's heart you get to play with!"

Leonard looked like she had slapped him. His face took on so pained of an expression that Thea almost felt bad... and then she didn't, because he was the guy who had just shown her best friend up.

Instead of fighting back, Leonard turned and walked away. Thea blinked at his back, and then, feeling guilty, called. "Laurel said she's really sick today." And then, because she was annoyed that she felt guilty, she added, "Probably because of the stress of you standing her up!"

He ignored her, or didn't hear her- she wasn't sure.

"That... may have been a little harsh." Iris murmured beside her, watching Leonard leave. His posture was rigid and his fists were clench. He was obviously angry, Iris just wasn't sure if it was at Thea... or himself.

"Harsh?!" Thea cried. She had been thinking the same thing, but didn't like being told so. "This was the guy who asked Sara to Homecoming, and then never showed up!"

"I know that, Thea, but he didn't seem very happy-"

"He shouldn't be happy! He should be _miserable_. He should be at Sara's door, groveling for forgiveness-"

"Keep your voice down, would you?" Iris hissed, clamping onto her wrist. "People are staring."

Thea humphed, dissatisfied. She looked behind her one more time, but by now, Leonard was gone.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Even though everyone thought it was an excuse, Sara was, in fact, sick. She had woken up after a terrible sleep with a high fever. Quintin had taken one look at her and sent her back to bed with Tylenol and some toast. Laurel had tried to get her father to let her stay home (he wasn't fantastic at taking care of sick people), but he had refused, saying that she had her responsibilities, and taking care of her sick little sister wasn't one of them.

"Yeah, well, considering that I'm the oldest female in this house, it kind of is." Laurel snapped back, but Quintin didn't budge.

Sara was absolutely miserable. She felt _awful_, and put that on top of memories from the night before filtering on repeat through her mind, with no distractions to chase them away... She laid in bed, trying to sleep, wishing she was anywhere but there.

She was still having a hard time believing that Leonard had stood her up. She could still see the look in his blue eyes when he had asked her to Homecoming; nervous, expectant, like his happiness depended on her answer. Why would he have asked her to Homecoming and then not showed? Just to make a fool out of her? It just didn't make any sense.

Or maybe she was in denial. Or maybe it was just the fever. Sara buried her face in her pillow, not sure of anything anymore.

Quintin had to head to work, but when he offered to call her mother, Sara refused immediately. "Mom doesn't need to come all the way down here just because I'm stuck in bed with a measly fever." She sniffled, shooing her father out of the door and flopping on the couch. "I promise to call you or Laurel or _someone_ if there is a change in my situation, ok?"

"Just keep drinking water and try eat a little, alright?" Quintin kissed his daughter on the forehead, handed her a glass of water, and rushed out of the door.

Sara flipped through Netflix, but the streaming version had a pretty meager collection of stuff for people her age like actually looked interesting. She ended up just turning on the Series of Unfortunate Events television show, and watched it through glazed eyes.

Her phone buzzed a few times, texts from her friends telling her they were sorry to hear she wasn't feeling well, and to get better soon. Iris sent her a particularly nice message about how lunch wasn't _nearly_ as entertaining without her, and that made her smile.

She got a text from Thea sometime after lunch. _Guess who stopped by?_

_Um... I got nothing_. Sara responded, pausing her current form of glazed-eyes entertainment so she could talk to her friend.

_Leonard Snart. The NERVE!_

Sara swallowed, Leonard's name burning into her mind. _Yeah? What did he want?_

_Wanted to know where u were. _Thea texted back instantly. _I told him you were sick, probably because of the stress from last night. Iris said it was too harsh, but I think he deserved it._

_THEA! _Sara shot back, groaning. _Thank u, but that was REALLY unnecessary! _

_:( Sorry S. Just trying to defend my BBF's honor._

_Thx, Thea, but I'll take it from here._ Sara told her, staring at the group of texts long after the two of them had said their goodbyes.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Laurel felt a little bit like a 3rd wheel in her own group of friends. She was honestly starting to wish she had insisted harder that she stay home with Sara, because Maggie and Alex would _not stop staring at each other_. She had to resist about a million strong urges to tease them, but she _did_ resist, because Alex was her best (non-related, Sara always came first) friend and that would be kind of mean.

Finally, she broke down just a tiny bit. "So... how did the dance go?"

Immediately, Alex and Maggie were like two high schoolers caught in the act (which... they kinda were). "Um... it was-" Alex started.

"Boring." Maggie told her quickly. "Once you were gone."

"Yeah." Alex nodded, vigorously. _Too_ vigorously. "We just kinda, you know, stood around. And talked and stuff. Super dull."

"We didn't even dance." Maggie added.

"Nope. Not even once. You really didn't miss out."

Laurel raised a slow eyebrow, 10th Doctor style. "Goodness, forget I asked. You two are obviously lying." She squinted at her two friends, unable to resist a little straight-faced teasing. "Either you two got into a terrible fight over something stupid and don't want to admit it, or you spent the entire night making out in a corner."

Alex choked on her milk, and barely restrained from spitting it across the entirety of the table. Maggie blinked a few times. "Can't say I saw that coming."

"The way you two were acting..." Laurel shrugged offhandedly.

"We just _danced_!" Alex spluttered, still coughing. "That was it! A simple, innocent dance!"

"Really? That's it?" Laurel furrowed her brow, and the other two nodded. "Ok, ok, I'll stop."

"_Thank you_." Alex ground out, her face a vivid red.

Maggie, seeming considerably more comfortable then her friend, nudged Alex playfully in the ribs. "Though, Danvers, I'm sure you wouldn't have minded a little bit of kissing in the corner-"

"I'm leaving." Alex declared, standing up with flushed cheeks and stuffing the last of her lunch in her mouth. "I will see you two when I stop feeling like I'm going to melt with embarrassment."

With that, she left her two friends at their table, both of them howling with laughter.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Julian had had many dreams the night before, after his revelation about the possibility of Caitlin having feelings for him. They had ranged from heartbreaking to invigorating to just plain strange. One especially cooky one wouldn't leave his head, about where Cisco, Barry and Caitlin all had powers and worked alongside Julian and Iris and occasionally _Joe_. Except Caitlin's powers actually made her evil, and he and Cisco were locked in a fierce battle to get her back. The dream ended with a vial of serum that could change Caitlin back, one that she refused, along with Julian's advances of love and a home. And then there was something about a necklace... the more he thought about it, the more the dream faded.

Hopefully, that dream was just the result of Homecoming's punch, instead of some sort of prophesy about the future. If it was, his life was about to get very, _very_ weird. (**A.N: Sorry, I had to throw that in. Just for a little bit of a reference to the real deal XD Ok, I admit, it was immensely enjoyable to write that bit.**)

Another dream from last night wasn't quite as weird, but it was much more vivid and depressing. Julian had somehow gotten up the nerve to ask Caitlin on a date, but she had given him one strange look, picked up her bags, and walked away. Undaunted, Julian had raced after her (he vaguely remembered a part where he was walking on walls, which was a little strange), and asked again. This time, Caitlin had glared at him and told that she would never, _ever_, go on a date with him.

Waking up with a broken confidence, Julian and laid in bed with his phone in front of his face, staring at a picture of the two of them. He had helpfully cropped Cisco out of it, so it made the two of them resemble a couple; arms around each other, smiling brightly, Caitlin's hair in a cute ponytail and a colorful fall scarf around her neck. They were standing in a pumpkin patch, and you could just barely see the curly stems of the pumpkin they were about to bring home to carve behind them. Cisco had ended up with that pumpkin, and Julian and Caitlin had simply retained the picture.

That moment, with the chilly breeze blowing through Caitlin's hair and sending strands of it into Julian's face, had probably been the moment that he realized that he was positively infatuated with Caitlin Snow. It had been a long time coming, but once he had that revelation...

He was ashamed to say that he had done absolutely nothing about it. Because until last night, he was completely convinced that his crush was totally and wholly unrequited.

And now... he was only slightly less convinced. After all of his dreams and the night had passed, his original lightbulb had faded to only a din glow. What if she _had_ been talking about someone else asking her? What if she still didn't actually like him?

Julian was still lost in his haze of doubts when he got to school and was joined by Cisco. He took a deep breath. Cisco knew Caitlin better then anyone- better then Julian himself. "Cisco... I have a very _very_ serious question, and I need you to answer it as honestly as you can."

"What's up, dude?" Cisco asked, looking a little concerned. Julian didn't totally blame him; he could imagine that he was acting a little strange with the bags under his eyes and the serious air to his demeanor.

"Do you- Do you think Caitlin likes me? Like, _like_ likes me?"

"Likes you... like has a crush on you, likes you?" Cisco clarified, and Julian was unsurprised to see a smirk playing around his mouth.

"Yeah." He breathed.

"Yeah." Cisco repeated.

Julian did a double take. "What?"

"Yeah. She likes you. That was the question, right?" Cisco smirked, looking amused at his friends discomfort.

"Yes, yes, right." Julian nodded, once, then again, then a third time. "So you... you really think she likes me? As more then just the friend."

"Dude. _Yes_." Cisco groaned. "How many more times do I need to say it?!"

"As many times as it takes to get it through my thick, disbelieving skull." Julian muttered. Then his face broke into a grin. "Thanks, mate."

"No problem, man." Cisco gave him a pat on he back. He broke away from his friend as they reached the nearest classroom, heading down a different hallway to another homeroom. Just before he got lost in the crowd, he called back. "Might want to get on that crush soon, huh? In time for Winter Formal, maybe?"

Julian blanched. Now that he knew, for almost sure, what Caitlin felt, he actually had to _act_ on it. How did that work? Did he just... ask her out? Did he ask her if she liked him first?

Once again lost on what to do, Julian slumped and stepped into his homeroom, mind working furiously to figure out what he could do to make this situation with Caitlin resolve, for once and for all.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

"I'm guessing you've come to talk about how amazing Homecoming was and how much I missed out on, huh?" Roy barely looked up from his lunch tray as Thea sat down at his table in the corner, placing her lunch box neatly in front of her. It had become such a regular occurrence that he was no longer surprised when Thea came over, ignoring her friends' protests about, 'Public Appearance'.

"No, actually." Thea said calmly, placing her sandwich neatly on top of her napkin, and not looking at him. "I left early."

"Left early? You?" Roy scoffed, disbelieving, even though he had seen her leave that night. "I doubt it."

"Doubt it or not, it happened." Thea shrugged, adjusting her seltzer so everything was perfectly straight in front of her. "I didn't have anyone to dance with, so I got bored and left." Her eyes shot up, bored into his for a second, then slid back down to her plate.

Roy rolled his eyes moodily. "I can take a hint, your highness. I told you, you don't want to involve yourself with someone like me."

Now it was Thea's turn to roll her eyes. Which she did. Dramatically. "Yes, yes, the high school delinquent. Ooh, I'm _so scared_."

Roy's lips twitched. Thea smiled in triumph.

Then he picked up his tray, sent her a cock-sure smile, and walked out of the lunch area.

The vulture (AKA Iris) sat down almost immediately. "Another turn down?" Iris said sympathetically.

"On the contrary." Thea said, stiff and regal as her last name implied. "I think that we are making progress."

"Well, you're certainly doing better then Sara, that's for sure." Iris sighed. "Poor thing. I can't imagine being stood up by a guy that you really like. I mean, if Barry did that to me..."

"You would forgive him in literally 8 and a half minutes." Thea huffed. "Because he _has_ stood you up before. Multiple times."

"Yes, well, that's because he forgot!" Iris spluttered defensively. "It wasn't out of malice or even intentional. You know how Barry is."

Thea shrugged, not about to press the matter and make her friend mad. They sat at Roy's table for the rest of lunch, ignoring the confused glances from their friends and other kids as to why they were boycotting their usual spots.

After lunch, Kara and Mon-El rejoined them. Kara had dark rings under her eyes and was yawning consistently behind her hand. Iris raised an eyebrow. "What sleep demon cursed you?"

She giggled. "Mon-El's love of dancing. We were the last ones to leave last night."

"That is both cute and a little weird." Thea murmured.

Mon-El smiled down at his girlfriend, looking more like a 80 year old staring at his wife then a high schooler with his most recent Homecoming date. "It was worth it."

"Hmph." Kara smothered another yawn. "That's just because you can fall asleep in 3 seconds. I was up 'till, like, midnight last night just trying to get some rest."

"I apologize, dear." Mon-El told her sarcastically. "Next time, we'll leave earlier."

They wandered off, leaving Iris and Thea to blink after them. Iris turned to the other girl curiously. "Did he just call her... dear?"

"I do believe he did." Thea hummed idly. "They are certainly... an interesting pair."

"Oh, c'mon." Iris gave her a nudge as they continued down the hallway. "They -maybe even literally- couldn't be better with anyone else."

"True, true." Thea grinned. She glanced down at her watch. "Come on, we'll be late to history if we don't hurry up."

They ran down the corridor, leaving the retreating forms of Mon-El and Kara behind them.

**Author's Note: Ah, the aftermath of Homecoming. Ya go from the peak of excitement to... um... whatever this was XD**

**Sorry 'bout that. Hopefully the next chapter will be more inspired :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: I realize it's not Friday. But I'm going to have a crazy day tomorrow and I didn't want to forget to post, even with the helpful reminder I've got on my phone now :)**

By Wednesday, Julian _still_ hadn't done anything about his "Caitlin situation".

At least things had begun returning to normal. He could now look at Caitlin without blushing, talk to her without stuttering, and be around her without slamming into a wall or tripping on his bag or feet. That was something, right?

Cisco said definitely. "Baby steps, Julian, baby steps. Next level, start giving her hugs."

The thought of hugging Caitlin made Julian feel in parts fluttery and nauseous with worry. Really, the thought of anything Caitlin gave him the same result. She was just so beautiful and perfect and special, and he...

He was him.

Cisco (his leading consultant on the matter, as was probably apparent), thought that was enough. "Dude, if she likes you, she likes _you_. Not who you think she likes. Because, you know, she started liking you before you started thinking about changing who you are so that she would like you. Actually, if you change who you are so she'll like you, she might not even like you, because, you know, she liked you before."

Julian squinted. "Mate, that doesn't even make any sense."

"No, it does!" Cisco protested. "I just... didn't word it quite right."

As if that wasn't obvious. Julian rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm not going to change who I am. I'm just struggling with the bit where I can speak to her without turning red, much less the part where I start talking about feelings and how I'm in_ love_ with her-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Cisco grabbed his arm, jolting him to a stop. "You're _in love with her_? Aren't you a little young?"

"Probably." Julian wailed hopelessly.

Caitlin took that moment to come darting from her car. She fell into step in between Cisco and Julian, and threw an arm around each of them. Julian's mouth dropped open a couple of inches.

Cisco just cocked his head. "What's gotten into you?"

"School spirit." Caitlin beamed, trying to keep her arm around Julian while her bag was slipping down her shoulder. "I just found out that there's going to be a school play! And _guess what it is_? Beauty and the Beast! And you know how much I love that story! Totally unappreciated girl, wants to do something beyond a mundane, provincial life, goes to a castle and ends up saving so many people because of- not her looks- her heart!" Caitlin let out a sigh. "More then 86% of the time, I wish I was Belle."

"I'm glad you're not." Julian blurted. "Because she's, you know, already taken and all."

Caitlin's eyebrows shot up on her forehead and Cisco winced. Surprisingly, however, Caitlin didn't take the comment the wrong way. Instead, she turned pink. "Oh, um, yes, I suppose there's that. _Anyway_, I was thinking... what if I auditioned for the part of Belle?"

Her entire face was glowing, lit from an unquenchable excitement. Cisco didn't really want to be the one to test if it was _actually_ unquenchable, but...

"Um, Cait? Can you even sing?"

Caitlin frowned. "Don't be ridiculous; of course I can. I wouldn't be consider a role with a singing part if I couldn't." She rolled her eyes at her best friend's idiocy. "So? What do you think?"

Unable to resist throwing in one more line (he was feeling brave today), Julian gave her the once over. "Well, you'd be able to match the name."

Once Caitlin connected the dots, Julian had already run off to his first class of the day.

He didn't see her grin, stretching across her face like a mouth-shaped rubber band, as a flush of happiness darted across her cheeks.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

The idea of a play buzzed around the school like an overeager mosquito, biting every high schooler it got close to. It attacked the table where Thea, Iris, and Felicity (who was holding the place of Sara while she was out sick) were sitting.

"You going to audition?" Thea asked, inspecting her nail polish, which was annoying chipped.

Iris snorted. "Are you kidding me? No _way_. Girl, I can't sing to save my life. I would give everyone in the audience and cast a permanent ruptured eardrum."

Felicity giggled. "I dunno. I think I might go for the part." She shrugged, sipping on her milk. "I like to act... even if I get some seriously awful stage fright."

Thea and Iris exchanged glances. "Um... you know this'll be performed in front of the whole school, right?" Thea asked gently. "So, um, you're going to have to do it. In front of the whole school. That stage fright thing might throw a wrench in your plan."

Felicity shrugged, not seeing to concerned. "It'll be good to get over my fears, right?" She smoothed down her skirt, mind flooded with the thoughts being Belle and wearing a beautiful yellow dress. Then she frowned. "On second thought... maybe not. Especially if the Beast isn't someone I'd want to kiss."

"Which means that Oliver would have to be the Beast." Thea deadpanned.

"Yeah." Felicity sighed. "Ah well. There go my dreams of stardom and glory."

"Hey, girl." Iris nudged her. "Don't let the idea of having to kiss another guy at the end of the show ruin your chances of following your dream! You could still totally get the part of Belle. I'm sure that Oliver would be proud of you."

Felicity blushed, adjusting her glasses with a nervously. "You think?"

Thea bit her lip, unsure of what to say, but Iris was nodding encouragingly. "Go for it, Felicity! I think you'd make a great Belle."

Felicity left lunch with a smile on her face, but Thea had a sinking pit in her stomach.

Because, the thing was, Felicity was right. Oliver got jealous really, _really_, easily. And he held grudges worse then anyone Thea had ever seen. If her idiot brother thought, even for a second, that Felicity was into the Beast (if she even got the part), then that could very well be the end of their relationship.

And Thea really didn't want to see that happen.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Sara woke up on Thursday feeling stir crazy and back to normal. She flew down the stairs to have breakfast, leaving her hair tangled and matted and her pajamas on. When her father saw how healthy she was, he was _sure_ to let her go. There was something she needed to do. And she needed to do it as soon as possible.

"Feeling better?" Quintin asked with a smile. He felt his youngest daughters forehead and nodded in satisfaction when he found no remaining traces of fever. "School today."

"Uh huh." Sara inhaled her toast and drank a quick glass of milk. "Gotta go grab my work from this week."

Thea, the best best-friend ever, had brought over her work for all of her subjects, and Sara had completed it in a, probably incorrect, feverish haze. Now she gathered up her papers from her desk, stuffed them in their correct folders, and put all of it in her bag.

That completely done, Sara checked her watch. She had about 45 minutes to do what she needed to do.

32 minutes later, Sara stepped out of her room. Her hair was in a messy bun with strands slipping down of her face, and her ears held two dangly silver hoops with sparkly balls on them (_thank you,_ Laurel). She had a white tank-top on, with a beaded flower pattern on the front, was wearing form-flattering skinny jeans and closed toe sandals with white straps. It was more work then she had put into her appearance in the time-span of _ever_, and all and all, she thought she looked pretty great.

Quintin raised his eyebrows when his daughter stepped into the kitchen. Laurel choked on her breakfast.

"Are you sure you still don't have a fever?" The detective asked in an only slightly teasing concern.

"I'm fine, daddy." Sara brushed him off, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "Just, you know, starting fresh after being sick. Thanks for letting me borrow your earrings by the way, Laurel."

"Is it considered borrowing if you didn't ask?" Laurel asked.

"Weeeeell, yeah. I'm gonna give it back." Sara said, squinting at her sister as she tried to figure out what the problem was.

The two girls loaded into Laurel's car once she had brushed her teeth and grabbed her school bags. Laurel pulled out of the driveway and glanced at her sister.

"So, a few developments at school while you were out." She informed Sara. "First off, everyone who was a couple _before_ Homecoming, is still a couple."

"That's good to hear." Sara nodded. She could see her sister adding inside her head, 'Except you and Leonard'.

"I agree." Laurel nodded. "Moving on to less important stuff- Mrs. Grant is rumored to be dating Non."

"As _if_." Sara snorted.

"I know, right?" Laurel rolled her eyes. "Also: It was announced that there is going to be a school play. Beauty and the Beast! Alex wants to try out."

"She's got a nice voice." Sara commented. "You think I should try out, too?"

Laurel eyes her. "I dunno. Aren't you a little... busy?"

"Fair point." Sara frowned. "Ah, well. That's alright. Gives one more lucky girl the chance at Belle." She grinned at her sister. "Because we both know I would have ground the competition into teeny tiny little bits and then disintegrated them with the first word of my audition."

Laurel shook her head, unable to keep from laughing. "Ooookay, Miss Modesty."

Sara pretended to blush and flipped her small strands of loose hair away from her face. "Oh, _stop_, you."

They arrived at school in a fit of giggles, Leonard and school plays and even just general school drama forgotten for the moment.

Sara was met at the door with by and explosion of brown hair. Thea, Iris and Alex all attacked her with hugs. "Geez, guys." Sara protested, grasping for air. "It's not like I died and came back to life or something."

(**A.N: HAHA, see what I did there?**)

Thea pulled back and eyed Sara up and down with an impressed glance. "Whoa. You're dressing game is on_ point_ today."

"Thank you." Sara preened, brushing off her shirt and smiling in satisfaction.

The smile fell from her face as Iris, tactlessly, added. "Leonard is not going to know what hit him."

There was an uncomfortable silence, in which Alex shut her eyes for a half second. When she opened them, the situation hadn't changed. "Um... I've got to, uh, see Maggie. I'll be right- no, actually, just- see you guys later."

She backed away and grabbed Laurel's arm. "I don't want to get involved in a _Leonard_ conversation. See, this is one of the reasons why I'm lesbian! Guys are just so _confusing_."

"Funny." Laurel sighed, glancing over her shoulder to see Sara brushing past her friends with a tight smile. "I always thought that _girls_ were the complicated ones."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Auditions started on Monday morning, the second Monday since Homecoming. Kara surprised Winn and Mon-El by announcing that lunch that she had an audition that afternoon.

"Hey, what part?" Asked Winn curiously. "I'm going for LeFou."

"Oh, that'll be great!" Kara smiled. "I'm, uh, actually thinking about going for Belle."

Mon-El stared at her. "Wait, you sing?"

"Dude, you haven't heard her sing yet?" Winn asked incredulously.

"Uh... no." Mon-El squinted at Kara. "No, I haven't."

She blushed under his scrutiny. "Well, then, you'll have to come to my audition, won't you?" She said, nodding as she came to the plan that solved the problem. "It's in the auditorium after school."

Meanwhile, Caitlin, Felicity, Winn, Cisco and Barry were all also preparing for auditions. "Why are all the nerdy kids going for the singing parts?" Cisco pointed out with a confused look. "Seriously- Thea's not here. Iris isn't here. Oliver and Dig aren't here."

Now Barry looked around. "Huh. That's peculiar."

Kara came and sat down beside Caitlin in row three of the auditorium, waving to the others. "Hi, guys. Getting excited?"

"More like getting nervous." Felicity muttered, clenching her hands in her lap.

"Did Mon-El come to watch you?" Cisco asked, looking over the top of the seat and smirking.

Kara, in comparison, beamed in pleasure. "Yes. Yes he did." She said happily. She nudged Caitlin. "Is Julian gonna be here?"

"Um, I don't know." Caitlin gave her a weird look, a flush starting up on her cheeks. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, he seems to support everything else you do." Kara shrugged. When Caitlin continued to frown, she gave her an incredulous look. "Uh, hello? Art show last spring? He stayed for the _whole thing_."

Caitlin face bloomed a tiny little smile and she looked down at her lap, remembering.

Winn rolled his eyes, a little too dramatically. "Girls." He muttered to Barry, who needed in agreement.

Malcolm Merlyn, the drama teacher, stepped up the stairs to the auditoriums stage. He tapped on the mic, and gave a thumbs up to the assistant tech in the sound box backstage. "Alright, kids. I'm going to read your name off this list. When I call you up, please come up here on stage, introduce yourself and the part you are going for, and sing whatever song you've prepared for your audition. Tomorrow, we will sort you into groups and hand out lines.'

'So. Is everyone ready?"

The group of aspiring young actors cheered their response.

"Great." Malcolm smiled. "First up, Bartholomew Allen."

Barry crossed his eyes in frustration. "It's _Barry_." He muttered, standing up and going to the stage.

"Alright, Mr. Allen." Malcolm said, stepping off of the stage so that Barry could be in the center. "Whenever you're ready."

Barry swallowed, suddenly looking nervous. He glanced out into the people waiting in the audience, more then half of them on their phones. The door in the back creaked open and Iris slipped in, smiling at him and waving brightly. Barry took a deep breath.

"Uh, hi, my name is Barry Allen and I'm auditioning for the part of Lumiere." He managed. Malcolm nodded encouragingly from his director's chair. "Uh, today I'll be singing I Want You Back by the Jackson 5."

In the back of the audience, he saw Iris' face bloom into a grin. He grinned back, sudden feeling a little more courageous.

The tinny sound of youtube karaoke started up, and Barry awkwardly took the mic from it's stand. "Oh, oooh, let me tell you now, oh. When I had you to myself, I didn't want you around. Those pretty faces always made you stand out in the crowd. Someone picked you from a bunch, one glance was all it took, and now it much too late for me, to take a second look."

Barry spun on the spot, coat flapping out to either side. Winn let out a supportive whoop, and Merlyn sent him a glare.

"Oh, baby, give me one more chance, to show you that I love you. Won't you please let me back in your heart."

Once Barry had finished with his song, there were only a few people left on their phones. His nerd-support group in the third row burst into cheers and applause, and even Malcolm smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Allen, that was a lovely performance." He said kindly. Barry accepted high fives and fist bumps as he made his way back to his seat, and a full on, in-school-and-I-don't-care, right-in-front-of-a-teacher kiss from Iris that left him grinning wildly.

Malcolm called up a few other kids, ones that the group on the third row didn't know all that well. Winn leaned back, satisfied. None were quite as good as Barry, and that pleased him immensely.

One girl, named Betty, (auditioning for Mrs. Potts) was really remarkable. "I think she'll get the part." Kara whispered in Felicity's ear.

"Oh, yeah, definitely." Felicity agreed, nodding vigorously.

"Kara Danvers, please?" Malcolm called up, shielding his eyes from the stage lights and looking for Kara.

Kara jumped out of her seat, sent Mon-El a look when he whooped supportively, and hurried up to the stage, tripping only once. She stubbled up the steps, grabbed onto the microphone, and gripped it tightly with both hands.

"Hi!" Her voice rang out, very, _very_ loud, and Kara winced, pulling back. "Uh, sorry. So, anyway, my name is Kara Danvers, and I'm auditioning for the part of Belle."

Mon-El frowned as he saw a few girls nudging each other and giggling, rolling their eyes. He resisted the urge to go put them in their place, not wanting to interrupt Kara and make her more nervous then she already was.

"Uh, so, yeah." Kara babbled. "I'm going to be singing Everytime by Britney Spears."

She took a deep breath, waiting for her music cue. "Notice me... take my hand. Why are we strangers when our love is strong? Why carry on without you? Everytime I try to fly I fall, without my wings, I feel so small. I guess I need you baby. Everytime I see you in my dreams, I see your face, you're haunting me. I guess I need you baby."

"She is _way_ better then Britney Spears." Felicity muttered, suddenly feeling more then a little intimidated. "No offense to Britney Spears."

Caitlin nodded, awestruck, and glanced over her shoulder to gauge Mon-El's reaction. He was gaping at the stage, mouth halfway open and eyes glue to Kara. She smiled.

"I may have made it rain. Please forgive me. My weakness cause you pain. And this song is my sorry..."

Kara's voice hit a high note, handling it beautifully. Winn broke into loud applause. "YEAH KARA!"

Her face broke into a grin, a blush spreading over her cheeks.

"Mr. Schott, please keep your reactions until after the performance." Malcolm glared.

When Kara was done, the third row jumped to it's feet in a standing ovation. Kara ran back down the steps, blushing hard and giving all the girls congratulatory hugs.

"Girl, you just got the part. Right there." Felicity told her, smiling.

"That's not true..." Kara protested, burying her face in her hands in embarrassment.

Mon-El attacked her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and spinning her. "You. Were. Amazing."

"Oh, stop." She blushed, lightly slapping his bicep. "You guys are making me blush."

Winn was next, bouncing up to the stage much more confidently then the others had. "Hi! I'm Winn Schott, and I'm auditioning for the part of LeFou." He said, loudly and with a confidence that made most of row three's jaws drop. "I'm going to be singing Don't Rain on My Parade by Barbra Streisand."

He promptly pulled the mic out of its stand and grinned at the crowd. "Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter. Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter. Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade! Don't tell me not to fly-I've simply got to. If someone takes a spill, it's me and not you! Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade!"

He walked towards the edge of the stage, and Kara broke into a grin. "Oh my gosh. He is_ such _a performer."

"I'll march my band out. I'll beat my drum. And if I'm fanned out...Your turn at bat, sir, at least I didn't fake it- hat, sir, at guess I didn't make it. Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a comer. I've simply gotta march- my hearts a drummer! Nobody, no, nobody is gonna... rain on my.. paaaaaraaaaade!"

He ended with a flourish, panting.

This time, even people _not_ in row three jumped to their feet.

Malcolm caught Winn by the arm before he could return to his widely cheering friends. He leaned foreword, whispering so that nobody else would hear. "As a rule, I've got to listen to anyone else who wants to audition. But let me tell you- there is a 90% chance that you just got the part, kid."

Felicity went next, singing a good, (but not Kara level, and everyone knew it) rendition of Sunday Morning by Maroon 5. She slumped back in her seat and let out a sigh.

That sigh and small self-pity session was interrupted by her arm being dragged up by none other then Oliver Queen. "You auditioned for Belle?" He asked, hurt flashing across his face.

"Uh, yeah." Felicity muttered, glanced around to make sure they weren't being watched. They were, so she grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him out of the room. "What's the matter with that? I don't think I got in, anyway. Kara was _way_ better."

"Besides the point!" Oliver cried. "You know what that part initials. You're going to have to kiss another guy, Felicity."

"It's a play!" She retorted angrily. "I wouldn't care if you auditioned for the Beast and kissed another girl!"

As soon as the comment was out of her mouth, she knew she had made a mistake. Oliver glowered at her, eyes dark and angry. "The thing is, _I_ wouldn't do that."

Felicity let go of his arm, turned, and ran out of the room.

Oliver watched her go, feeling a sinking in his stomach that told him he had gone too far. Suddenly feeling a mix of vengefulness and guilt, he turned and stormed back into the auditorium, walking straight towards Malcolm Merlyn.

"I'd like to audition." He said, eyes still filled with anger.

Merlyn raised his eyebrow. That much anger could have some pretty good potential for the Beast. "I will put you on the list."

Cisco turn had come, and he walked onto the stage, taking a deep breath. "Hi, I'm Cisco Ramon, auditioning for the part of Gaston, and I'm going to be singing The Music of the Night from Andrew Lloyd's Phantom of the Opera."

Malcolm raised his eyebrows.

"Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses. Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor. Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender. Turn your face away from the garish light of day, turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light. And listen to the music of the night..." Cisco's voice was low and smooth and every single person in the audience gaped at him, never having heard him sing before.

When he was done, his friends greeted him with cheers and claps on the back. They all knew who was going to get the part of Gaston.

It was Caitlin's turn now, and she stopped up on the stage, feeling her hands shaking as she gripped the mic. Cisco gave her a thumbs up from his seat, looking calm and collected. _You got this_. He mouthed.

"Hi, I'm Caitlin Snow, and I'm going for the part of Belle." Caitlin said, as calmly and with as much confidence as she could muster. "I'm going to be singing Just as Kiss by Lady Antebellum."

As soon as she started singing, everyone knew that she was really just embarrassing herself. Her voice, while not the worst ever heard, was tone deaf and pitchy.

Caitlin knew it too, and managed to make it through her song without bursting into tears or turning so red she burst into spontaneous flames.

That's when Julian walked in.

He looked at Caitlin on the stage, broke into a grin, and then heard her voice. His eyebrows raised, and he frowned a little. He would have expected Caitlin to have a really nice voice, quiet and sweet and a little breathy. Not... not this.

Row three was really the only row that clapped when Caitlin was done. She didn't return to her seat. She shoved past Julian, who was trying to congratulate her and tell her she had done well, feeling embarrassed tears burning in her eyes.

Cisco moved to get up, but Julian shook his head. "I'll go after her." He said, slipping out the door. Kara and Iris exchanged looks over the top of the seats. This could end two ways: An argument, or a kiss. Either way, they were disappointed they had to miss it.

Hopefully, they would just have to find out after auditions were over.

**Author's Note: Yeah, kinda an abrupt ending, but this was getting ****_long_****, so I decided to split auditions in half.**

**See ya'll next week! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Time for part two! We probably aren't going to find out the cast (though it's sorta obvious, in my opinion... and not very realistic but whateverrrr) in this chapter, but it will be soon.**

Auditions continued in the same manner. All of row four were glad that they were done, able to sit back and whisper-rate the rest of the tryouts for different parts.

To everyone's surprise, someone familiar stepped up for the last audition for the Beast.

Oliver Queen.

"Didn't he_ just _get mad at Felicity for going for Belle?" Kara said, wrinkling her nose in confusion.

"We must have heard him wrong or something." Cisco shrugged. "Because why would he go and audition if he did?"

Oliver's voice was deep and strong, admittedly perfect for the Beast. But Kara felt a stirring of unease. She didn't think she had heard Oliver wrong. So then why... it just didn't seem right to her.

They all filed out at around 5:30, auditions over and buzzing over who was going to get what part. Everyone was convinced, without a doubt, that Kara was getting Belle.

"It's going to be _awesome_!" Winn grinned. "You get to play Belle... I could be LaFou... and Cisco will be forced to flirt with you as Gaston! Ha!"

Mon-El's face dropped, but only for a moment. Then he shrugged. "Hey, just as long as he doesn't take it past the stage." He said, eyeing Cisco and flexing his muscles threateningly.

Kara rolled her eyes over Cisco's head at Winn, suddenly realizing she was the only girl left in their group. She glanced around the silent, empty hallways, wondering where Caitlin and Julian had ended up.

And how.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

"Caitlin- Caitlin, wait."

Julian rushed down the hall after Caitlin, pushing through the last few remaining kids in the hallway, filtering home after practice and after-school-activities.

Caitlin was at her locker, trying to get her bags quickly and dropping books all over the floor. He crossed the remaining distance in a few quick strides and handed her the nearest book.

"Thank you." Caitlin said stiffly, snatching it from him and stuffing it roughly in her bag.

"Caitlin, wait." Julian repeated, grabbing her arm. "Look-"

"If it's about my audition, I don't want to talk about it." Caitlin snapped. "I was a complete fool for thinking that I could go up there and suddenly be a good singer. I was a fool to think that I could act the part of a lead competing against all of those other girls." Her chin wobbled, but she held her face high. "And if I'm the laughingstock of the school tomorrow... so be it. I guess that's what I get for following my dream-"

Before he could help himself, Julian leaned down and kissed her.

Her taste exploded across his lips, making him feel dizzy. Then the euphoria stopped and he realized what he was doing.

And that Caitlin wasn't kissing him back.

Julian jolted back, face flushing. "Caitlin- I'm- I'm-" He turned and ran down the hallway, unable to say anything else.

Because she hadn't reciprocated. Because she _didn't_ like him back after all. No matter what Cisco said, or Barry said, or he thought he knew. She _didn't like him back_.

In truth, Caitlin hadn't kissed him back because she was so shocked and overwhelmed that she didn't move at all for a full _minute_, long after Julian was gone from the corridors. Then she covered her mouth with her hand, lips buzzing with electric emotion.

This evening had gone from exciting to embarrassing to horrible to exhilarating to confusing to just plain mixed up in the matter of an hour. Caitlin's hand stayed over her mouth, unable to figure out what to do.

Should she go after him? Should she text him? Call him? Wait until tomorrow? Why had he kissed her? Why _now_ after all off this time, after all of this, after not asking her to Homecoming? Why her? Why _them_?

Caitlin pulled out her phone. She needed advice, and she needed it _now_.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Iris opened the door after one knock. "Hey, girl. Come on in." She ushered Caitlin through the door and into the hallway.

Barry turned away from whatever he was watching on the couch and waved. "Hey, Cait." He smiled. "What's going on?"

"Uh, hi Barry." Caitlin swallowed, wanting nothing more then to get away from anything that reminded her of Julian. And auditions. "You, uh, you did a really good job on your audition."

"Thanks!" He brightened up like a candle spark. "You did, too."

Caitlin raised an eyebrow. She would have glared at him, but this was _Barry_. He wasn't taunting her- he was just being kind. "Did you _hear_ my performance?"

"Hey, you were better then that Helena girl." Barry shrugged. "She sounded like a dead fish."

Caitlin burst into laughter, and then, promptly, into tears. Iris let out a sigh and Barry startled to his feet. "What- what did I do? What did I say?" He asked Iris, grieved that he had upset her.

"It's not you." Caitlin sobbed, letting him give her a hug. Barry gave _really_ good hugs. "It's not- It's me. It's all me."

"Ignoring the fact that that sounds like a breakup line..." Barry quipped. She giggled into his shirt, tears still staining her face. "You wanna tell us what's wrong?"

Iris and Barry, the best and most mature couple in school, sat Caitlin down on the couch. Iris ran upstairs to get a fluffy (post-breakup, as she called it- not that she had ever had the opportunity to use it) blanket, and Barry went to get some tissues. Then they plopped down in seats on their own- Barry in a chair on Caitlin's left, and Iris on the spot on the couch on Caitlin's right.

"Alright." Iris said once they were situated. "Tell us _everything_."

"There's not much to tell." Caitlin sniffled, gratefully accepting Barry's tissue. "You guys know how I've... liked Julian for awhile? Since sophomore year?"

Iris nodded even as Barry said, "Wait, what? You have?"

"Yes, dumbo." Caitlin nudged him with her foot. "I really wanted him to ask me to Homecoming this year. I even, you know, hinted at waiting for the right guy to ask me, right in front of him, when there were no other guys around. I personally thought I was being pretty obvious. And when he didn't ask me... I guess I just assumed that that meant he didn't have any feelings for me, you know?"

Iris nodded again, rubbing her shoulder as Caitlin wiped at her eyes. "But- but this evening, after my audition fail... He came up, and I was talking about my embarrassment being the price for following my dream- which _might_ have been an little overdramatic, and then he just... he just... kissed me."

Barry's eyebrows shot up his forehead. Iris' eyes went huge. "He did? OMG, he did! Caitlin- that's your first kiss!"

"I_ know_!" She cried, a fresh flood of tears coming at Iris' words. "And I didn't even kiss him back! I was just so _shocked_, and he jumped it on me, and he was gone so fast..."

She buried her face in Iris' shoulder, sniffling. "And now he probably hates me and thinks that I don't like him back, when I _do_! I do _so much_." She leaned back and wiped her eyes, blowing her nose loudly into her tissue.

Joe took that moment to walk him. He frowned when he saw Caitlin's tears, and glanced at both of his kids (don't go there, mind, don't go there, you know they're dating). "Everything alright here?"

"Yep!" Iris jumped up and began to push him back into the kitchen. "You know. High school stuff. Boy drama. That kinda thing. You wouldn't be interested."

"You've got that right." Joe agreed, changing courses and heading to his bedroom. "Good luck."

Iris rejoined her boyfriend and friend in the living room. "So. What's the plan?"

"What do you mean, 'what's the plan'?!" Caitlin asked. "I've ruined _everything_, and Julian will never forgive me, and-"

Barry promptly covered her mouth with his hand. She glared at him mutely, annoyed. "Good. Now that you're all quiet, here's what we're going to do." He pulled his hand away, but Caitlin took her cue not to speak. "Tomorrow morning, you are going to find Julian- ah ah ah! Wait until I finish. You are going to walk up to him, and you are going to do one of two things."

Iris stood up, holding up one finger dramatically. Caitlin tried not to laugh, but couldn't help herself.

"ONE!" Barry cried, flinging himself out of his chair, acting as goofy as possible to stop her tears. "You can walk up to Julian, take a deep breath, and tell him everything you just told us: About your confusion, why you didn't kiss him, how you like him back, etc."

"Or TWO!" Iris tagged on. "You can step up to Julian and give him the kiss of his dreams."

"Number two would admittedly be easier. And also less stressful." Barry reviewed honestly. "But it's totally up to you. Whatever you prefer.'

Caitlin felt a nervous squirming in her stomach. She bit her lip. Hard. "I- I don't know if I can, guys." She whispered.

"Sure you can, Caitlin." Iris bopped her on the shoulder supportively. "It's not that hard, and it's not like you need to worry about rejection or anything. There is a 100% chance that he will reciprocate your feelings. So you don't have anything to worry about!"

Caitlin bit her lip again, brow furrowing. "I- I suppose not..." Then she took a deep, steadying breath. "Ok. Ok, tomorrow, I will talk to him. Or kiss him. Either way."

Barry and Iris cheered, a gave each other high fives.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Kara waited until 6:30 until she texted Mon-El. She got halfway through biology, a quarter way through astronomy, and finished 3 _entire_ math problems before giving up and pulling out her phone.

'_I wish u had auditioned'_

Mon-El responded with remarkable timing. He must've had his phone nearby (not that that was very unusual for their age).

_'__I would say me too, but I can't act. Or sing'_

_'__I'm sure ur not that bad'_

_'__Yes. I am'_

_'__LOL' _Kara sent him a gif off a blond girl laughing. She had no idea what it was from, but it didn't really matter.

_'__Anyway, you'll have fun getting to know the Beast dude if u get the part (u so will). Maybe a future friend?'_

_'__Nothing on u, tho :)'_

_'__Aww, shucks, ur making me blush' _Mon-El finished that sentence with an eye roll emoji, telling her that he wasn't really blushing.

Kara grinned at her phone. _'Ur a goofball'_

_'__Ur sappy :)'_

_'__I'm a girl'_

Another eye rolling emoji. Then: _'I gtg do some homework, k? CU tomorrow?'_

_'__Yup. Night'_

_'__Bye'_

Kara turned off her phone and tossed in on her bed. She sat back in her swivel chair and spun around a few times, suddenly feeling _really _happy. Mon-El made her happy. Her audition made her happy. Her friends made her happy. Was it normal to be that happy in high school?

Probably not.

Kara grinned anyway.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Ever since Thursday (ok, so Thursday and Friday and Monday, really), Sara had been working on 'style improvements'. Whether it was to boost her own confidence after getting shown up, or to show Leonard that she didn't need him to be pretty, she had stopped throwing her hair in ponytails, wearing bulky sweatshirts and ratty jeans. She had even enlisted Thea to help her go shopping (BLAH) to get some more stylish outfits. It had actually been kind of fun, mostly because 76% of the outfits that Thea suggested were completely outrageous. And broke dress code.

She hadn't been able to catch Leonard's eye on Thursday. All the other single guys in her class, however (_and_ some of the girls), stared at her with a newfound appreciation. Sara wasn't sure how she felt about it. She didn't _need_ people to like her for how she looked- she had a perfect amount of friends who loved her for her, and that was good enough- but it was kinda fun to watch how people made an effort to smile and say hello when she walked down the hallway. Fun, and a little surreal.

Thea was on cloud 9. "Now we can all be stylish and fashionable together!" She squealed, grabbing Iris and Thea's hands and swinging them back and forth a few times. "We're going to turn down _so_ many guys this year, ladies!"

Auditions were Monday afternoon, and while Iris went, Sara didn't see the point of going. She and Thea had a girl's afternoon together, just the two of them, like they used to. Thea tried to convince Sara to get some high heeled shoes, and Sara only gave in when they were white leather boots with straps crisscrossing the front. She bubbled over with pleasure when she saw they were on sale, bought them, and wore them every single day to school for an entire week.

On Tuesday morning, Leonard Snart caught the first sight of her. Today, she was dressed in a dark blue jean jacket with a long red shirt underneath and black leggings. And, of course, her leather boots.

Sara looked him right in the eye as she passed. His eyes were a stony-cold blue, masking everything that he was thinking and feeling. Sara gave him the tiniest of smiles. She had forgiven him long before today.

Right before she passed him completely, Leonard grabbed her arm. Sara was pulled to a stop, standing so close to him that she could feel the brush of his collard shirt against her jacket.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, eyes sparkling. "I'm so, so, sorry. It was never supposed to be like that."

"Why? Why did you stand me up, Leonard?" Sara asked, her heart thudding as she finally got to ask the question that she had been dying to know the answer to for more then a week. "I mean, if it was me who had asked you- I would get that. But you went out of your way to ask _me_. Why stand me up after all of that?"

Leonard opened his mouth, words choking in his throat. "If I could tell you, Sara, I would."

And leaving her with that ominous note, Leonard gently brushed her cheek with his fingertips and fled.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

When Tuesday morning rose bright and beautiful, Caitlin awoke with huge bags under her eyes and a nervousness she couldn't get rid off. She hadn't slept well the night before, staying for a long time at the West's, then having to come home and explain to her mother in the simplest way possible why she was so late. After finishing the last of her homework and changing into pajamas, Caitlin had laid awake under covers, listening to the sound of the wind in the trees and running over and over in her head what exactly she was going to say to Julian.

She searched the halls with Cisco for him once she got to school, and was aggrieved to find that he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Cisco hadn't seen him that morning, and he wasn't at his locker, or in the library, or in the auditorium...

Panic set in. How could she go an entire day with lines of what-to-say-what-to-say-what-to-_say_ flashing through her head? Where _was_ he?

In truth, Julian was hiding. He couldn't bare the thought of seeing Caitlin in the hallway; of having to _talk_ to her, after her obvious lack of interest in him the afternoon before. He got his bags in record time and found himself somewhere to "hide", placing himself with the rest of the newly-auditioned nerd group and blending in perfectly.

That all came to a grinding halt when he saw two people by Caitlin's locker. One of them was Caitlin (obviously), and the other was a boy that Julian hated with every fiber of his being, holding Caitlin by the elbow against her locker.

All thoughts of avoiding Caitlin gone, Julian took off running toward the girl that he was quite possibly falling in love with.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

"I heard about your audition last night."

Caitlin's hand froze on her chemistry book, halfway to pulling it out of her locker to place in her shoulder back. The voice that had spoken was one that she hadn't heard in a long time. It was voice that used to haunt her all the way through middle school and Freshmen year, a voice that belonged to someone who could hurt with words just as badly as he could hurt physically. The voice of what Cisco called her own "personal bully".

The voice of one Hunter Zolomon.

Caitlin turned around slowly, the Senior bodybuilder's shadow looming over her. "You did, did you?" She said as calmly as possible, knowing from experience that Hunter fed off of fear and hurt.

"Yeah." He held out his hands and gave her a light push, still managing to send her stumbling into her locker. "I heard you sounded like a dying cat trying to sing."

Feeling her hands begin to shake, Caitlin slowly turned back to her locker and grabbed another book.

A hand grasped her elbow and slammed her back around and into her locker. "Where are you going, Caity?" Hunter asked, smirking. Was is possible that this awful Senior was the only person in the world without any redeeming qualities _at all_?

"To my first class." Caitlin said regally, her legs starting to shake, too. "I don't want to be late."

"Yeah, but we were still talking." He hadn't let go of her elbow. "I heard about your little boyfriend. Jillian, is it?"

"Julian. It's Julian." Caitlin muttered.

"Yeah, well, you know what I heard? That Jillian kissed you in the corridor. Probably out of pity, huh? After such an _awful_ audition-"

"You leaved Julian out of this." Caitlin hissed, starting to get mad. "You don't even deserve to _look_ at him-"

Sudden pain bloomed across her cheekbones and Caitlin clutched at her face. She gaped up at Hunter, his fist still raised. The few people gathered around them gasped.

Out of nowhere, a familiar blond boy broke through the ring of students and grabbed Hunter by the shoulder. "You get off of her!" Julian yelled, seething with rage.

"Julian, no!" Caitlin cried, knowing that Hunter's anger would have simmered down in just a moment.

Hunter growled and shoved Julian backward, sending him tumbling into the locker, too. He grabbed him by the front of his collard shirt and raised his fist high, ready to have it come smashing down on Julian's nose.

"Stop!" Caitlin screamed. "Stop!"

Caitlin Snow wasn't a physical person. She didn't fight other kids, didn't push them around, barely even touched them. Her mother would kill her if she ever got in a fight, so Caitlin stayed quiet and peaceable, relying on teachers and her friends to help her if situations got too physically messy.

But now, as Hunter's fist hovered in front of Julian's face, she didn't hesitate. Taking a deep breath and squeezing her eyes shut for a moment at the pain that was sure to come, Caitlin grabbed Hunter's arm, swung him around, and punched him in the face.

It wasn't a particularly hard or well done punch, but a fiery pain shot up Caitlin's hand. She gritted her teeth, watching as Hunter staggered back, dropped Julian to the ground, and clutched at his nose. "You- you-"

Caitlin glared him down, wishing she was taller so she could actually glare _down_ at him. "Mess with me all you want." She hissed. "But that is what happens when you mess with my friends. _Especially _Julian."

Hunter turned, broke through the crowd, and ran down the hallway. Caitlin wasn't worried about him going to a teacher. She had reported his bullying often enough that anyone he pleaded the victim to wouldn't believe his word over hers.

Caitlin crouched down by Julian's side. He sat up, brushing her face with his fingers. "He _hit_ you."

"I hit him." Caitlin countered. "Also... I like you."

Julian breathed out a laugh, but still made sure to be extra gentle when he kissed her.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Part 2 of auditioning went as smoothly as line reading with people you didn't know could. Everyone who got a callback for leads (Kara, Barry, Cisco, Winn and Oliver) were called up to the stage and paired into the parts they were going for. In some cases, a few people were asked if they wanted to switch parts, Malcolm finding another part to be more suitable for their acting.

Kara and Cisco were put in a group together to read lines as Belle and Gaston. Oliver (playing the Beast) and another girl auditioning for Belle were paired; Barry, as Le Fou, and someone who was playing Gaston went together; and Winn, and two others going for Mrs. Potts and Chip all went in one auditioned together.

Kara found it a little bit awkward to be flirtatious (even if it was just a play, and Gaston had to do 99% of the flirting) with Cisco. She tried to picture that it was Mon-El in front of her instead, a suggestion that Cisco actually made. He himself was imagining Kara as the lovely Kendra Saunders, beautiful, but taken.

"I've told you before, Gaston." Kara said, straightening her shoulders and clutching her impromptu prop -an AP History book- to her chest. "I will never be in love with you."

"I sure that, with time, that can change." Cisco insisted, smiling suavely at her. "You know... with your, um, _brains_-" He spat it out like it wasn't part of his _own_ real-life charm. "And my dashingly good looks, we will be the greatest couple in the town- in the city! In the world! My dear, I can promise you. I will give you everything that you desire. And more."

(**A.N: Sorry, these aren't the real words from any sort of Beauty and the Beast. They are probably terrible. Whatever, you know?**)

Meanwhile, Oliver and Isabelle (the girl going for Belle), were having their own difficulties. Oliver was doing his best to play the sulking, brooding, angry side of the Beast, and all he found himself thinking about was Felicity, Felicity, Felicity.

That made at least the brooding side easy. When Felicity had found out that he, after scolding her, had auditioned for the Beast, she had gotten so mad that she refused to speak, text, or even _look_ at him all week. Reading lines and trying to flirt with this... _Isabelle_ (who was admittedly quite pretty but had nothing on Felicity), was like putting his heart in a blender. Or rubbing it on a cheese grater. Or something like that.

"Who- who are you?" Isabelle stuttered. Her voice had been pretty nice, but they way she read her lines was flat and unemotional. Oliver could see that -unless the other girls were absolutely horrendous- she wouldn't be getting the part.

"Who am _I_?!" Oliver growled, glaring at her so hard that she actually looked slightly nervous. Ha. "Who are _you_?"

"My name is... Belle." Isabelle read, glancing down at her sheet to check her wording. Malcolm, sitting in his director chair, sighed. "I need you to release my father immediately."

"If I release him, you will take his place." Oliver roared. "Now GET OUT!"

"Go, Belle, go!" Malcolm read from his chair, taking the place off Belle's father (they hadn't had enough of people auditioning for the character to go around).

"I'm not leaving you!" Isabelle protested. She whipped to Oliver. "Take me instead."

"No, Belle!" Malcolm cried.

"MAKE YOUR CHOICE!" Oliver yelled. "Stay, or leave. But you can't do both, and someone is staying here."

Malcolm put down his script. "Very, uh, good you two. Next!"

Barry and the other Gaston (a kid by the name of Maxwell) walked onto the stage, Barry gripping his paper so hard that it wrinkled.

"Begin when you're ready." Malcolm instructed.

"But, Gaston!" Barry protested, acting the part of a weaselly, adoring fan. "You can get any girl you want! Why wait for Belle?"

"Because- Because Belle is more beautiful then any other girl in the village." Max declared. He was actually pretty good at this, and Barry found himself a little worried for Cisco. Hopefully his friend was doing just as well. "The way... the way her eyes sparkle are like a million diamonds in a blue sky-"

"What are diamonds doing in a sky?" Barry asked, nose wrinkling.

"No, you fool, it was a- a- meta-whatever." Gaston blustered. "Belle's eyes are beautiful, that's the point."

"Great work, you two!" Malcolm nodded, impressed. "Alright, next group please!"

Winn and his partners (Eve, going for Mrs. Potts; and Mark Mardin, going for Chip) took the stage for the last audition with original groups. Winn put on his best Lumiere accent and began the scene. "Madame, I believe that we have found the one!"

Eve's eyes widened, comically huge. "The- the one? No..."

"What one, mommy?" Mark asked, his voice high and his cheeks flushed from embarrassment as he called a girl younger than him "mommy". Winn felt for the dude. Rough role to play.

"The one to break the curse." Winn explained. "The one to free us all!"

"But- but how do you know?" Chip asked.

"When you are older, I will tell you." Eve smiled, patting his shoulder.

Chip paused for a second. "Okay, I'm older now!"

Malcolm nodded. "Thank you, that's good." He picked up his sheet of notes that he had taken during the audition, and began pairing up people that he thought could be leads to see how they interacted.

A few hours later, Kara, Winn, Cisco and Barry were all released. "Results will be posted on Monday!" Malcolm called out.

"Ugh, so _long_ to wait!" Kara moaned, letting out a heavy sigh.

"You'll get the part." Winn assured her, bumping their shoulders together.

"So will you." She smiled back, patting his head.

Cisco rolled his eyes at Barry behind their backs. "Yes, yes, we will all get our desired parts and skip off into the sunset singing Kumbaya and running on rainbows." He snarked.

Barry burst into laughter, doubling over and howling as the other two bit down on their lips to keep from laughing as well. Cisco cracked a grin. "Hey, that was pretty good."

Barry, still laughing, shook his head and slung his arms around his friends, walking down the hallway and out of school.

**Author's Note: Snowbert snowbert snowbert! Let's hear if for my favorite Arrowverse ship of all time! And now this plot twist with Leonard... ooh I'm soooo excited!**

**Audition results are in the next chapter!**

**Oh also, lowkey- that scene between Iris, Barry and Caitlin is probably one of my favorites in this entire story XD **


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Chapter 11 already! Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing, especially bittersweetcalamity :))) **

"I haven't seen you hanging out with Roy as much." Iris mentioned casually, eyeing Thea out of the corner of her eye.

"No." Thea folded her hands in her lap, and smirked so widely that Sara's jaw actually dropped. "But just 'cause you haven't seen it..."

"OMG." Iris shoved back her chair and turned her whole attention on Thea. "OMG, you guys are dating, aren't you? He asked you out, didn't he?"

"Actually, _I_ asked _him_." Thea tossed her hair over her shoulder and waved a little in Roy's direction. Sara saw him roll his eyes, then blush and look at his plate. "Goodbye, old fashioned-ness, hellooooo Roy Harper!"

Sara face-palmed, but she was grinning. "Oh my gosh, you are _such_ a girl."

"Says the girl stepping up her style to impress Mr. Leonard "Cold" Snart." Thea shot back, blushing. "Your shorts today break dress code."

"It doesn't- it does not!" Sara protested, bolting out of her seat and sticking her arms straight down at her sides. "Oh no, it does." Hurriedly, Sara sat back down, not-so-discreetly checking around her for teachers to catch her "scandalous" shorts. "I seriously did not mean to do that."

Iris let out a bemused sigh. "Between the two of you and Leonard, it's a wonder we have time for the rest of the drama going on at AV High. For example: Did you guys even know that Oliver and Felicity _totally_ broke up?"

"That's old news. I knew that yesterday." Thea said, straightening the napkin placed in her lap.

"Not fair. You're his sister!" Iris protested.

"I found out from Laurel, not him." Thea rolled her eyes.

"Same." Sara shrugged. "I don't think Oliver really likes to talk about... feelings."

"Ha. Tell me about it. If I didn't have you two I would be going stir crazy inside my own _head_." Thea groaned, miming banging her forehead against the tabletop.

"How about this." Iris offered up. "I heard from Barry who heard it from Winn who heard it from Felicity who heard it from Cisco that Caitlin punched Hunter in the face to protect Julian!"

The other two's mouths fell open. "No way..." Thea gaped. "That can't be right."

"It must have gotten mixed up somewhere down the line." Sara agreed. "You know, like telephone. Are you sure it wasn't Hunter who punched Julian to hurt Caitlin?"

"Of course not- that wouldn't be news at all." Iris rolled her eyes. "Hunter's just like that. I _also_ heard that Hunter punched Cait first so I suppose it was in self defense, not as an instigation."

At that moment, two figures walked into the cafeteria. The taller one had his arm around the shorter, her head resting on his chest. Iris smirked. "Told you."

"Caitlin!" Thea cried, rushing over to her and Julian. "What _happened_ to you?"

She had a molted black and blue bruise on one cheekbone, turning green near the edges and causing her left eye to scrunch up a little more then usual. Julian ran his fingers over her hair and frowned. "Hunter punched her."

"He _didn't_." Thea gaped, acting as if it was the first time that she had heard the news. "He _wouldn't_!"

"He did." Caitlin agreed, not seeming entirely focused on the conversation as Julian's hand rested on her shoulder, rubbing the bare skin of her collar bone. Caitlin shivered. "Uh, anyway." She broke away from Julian and tugged him over to their seats, sitting down hurriedly to hide her flustered blush.

Sara smirked widely. "You know what I heard?" She reached over and snatched Caitlin's hand from where it was hidden in her pocket and held it up. It was wrapped in a brown ace bandage. "I heard that little miss non-physical punched back."

"It was in defense!" Julian protested, it being his turn to be in defense.

"He was going to hurt Julian!" Caitlin exclaimed at the same time. Still, her eyes turned down, looking ashamed. "Even so, it was wrong, and I shouldn't have done it. You can't fight violence with violence."

"Girl, I think it's fantastic." Iris grinned, patting her knee. "Hunter will probably never mess with you again!"

"_And_ you got the guy." Thea agreed, nodding her chin towards Julian. "It's just one huge win-win situation!"

Caitlin turned a dark shade of rose and choked on her milk.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Kara was on her way to her first class on Monday morning when she was swarmed by a group of kids. "Congratulations!" A few of the cried out, giving her pats on the back and nudging her toward the bulletin board.

"Congratulations...?" Kara murmured, confused and still half asleep. Then she froze. "Wait- what day is it today?"

"It is Monday, beautiful!" Mon-El declared, coming out of nowhere and spinning her around so abruptly that she tripped in her shoes and had to cling to him to stay upright. He grinned. "Beautiful? You see what I did there? Because, you know, you're Belle?"

Kara's eyes went huge. "I'm- I'm- I'm- I'm _what_?!"

"You didn't see the announcement?" Mon-El asked incredulously, grin growing as he tugged her over to the bulletin board. "They released the parts today!"

Kara leaned foreword, her eyes glued to the piece of paper tacked to the wall.

_Belle- Kara Danvers_

_The Beast- Oliver Queen_

_Gaston- Cisco Ramon_

_Lumiere- Winslow Schott_

_LeFou- Bartholomew Allen_

_Mrs. Potts- Siobhan Smythe_

_Maurice- Connor Hawke_

_Chip- Barton Mathis_

Below the leads was a long list of names under "vocal extras" and "townsfolk". Kara saw both Felicity and Caitlin's name under the latter, but her body was buzzing with too much excitement to even worry about how they would feel.

Mon-El nodded in satisfaction. "The only downside is that Felicity might kill you for having to act like you are in love with her ex-boyfriend. Though-" He tilted his head to one side. "Considering that it is her _ex_-boyfriend, she shouldn't actually care."

"Girls don't think like that, though." Kara shook her head, suddenly feeling a few strands of nervousness weaving through her. She and Felicity had never been particularly close, but she liked the other girl well enough, and she would hate for a play to get in the way of their friendship. "Hopefully, she'll understand that it's just acting." She turned her gaze on Mon-El. "And hopefully, you will, too. _No jealousy._"

"I promise, I promise!" He protested, taking her hand and trying to spin her around again.

Abruptly, Kara let out a squeal of excitement. "OMG. I'm Belle. I'm Belle, Mon-El!"

"You always have been, in my eyes." Mon-El said, oddly sappy. His hands were suddenly on her shoulders, face ever-so-close. Kara's breath shortened into a gasp, heart pounding hard.

"Move aside!" A voice called, pushing past them and breaking them apart. The person shoved in for a look at the casting list, leaving Kara and Mon-El to look away and clear their throats nervously.

"We should... we should go." Kara muttered, setting off down the hall.

"Yeah." Mon-El agreed, hurrying after her. "Yeah."

Cisco saw the list next, walking in with Caitlin and Julian (and totally rocking the third wheel). "Cisco, look!" Caitlin called over, gesturing to the sheet. "You got in! You're Gaston!"

"What?!" Cisco ran over, his eyes wide and shocked. "What- _yes_! Yes!"

Caitlin squeezed him in a hug, surprised to see her own name under Townsfolk. She sighed. "Ah well. I suppose that I'll never be Belle."

Julian wrapped his arm around her, not wasting a single opportunity to touch her. "You're better then Belle, Caitlin Snow."

She gave him a half-smile, blushing under his gaze. "Thanks, Julian."

"Once you two are done be gross and sappy..." Cisco muttered, breaking their kiss lead up. "I would like to celebrate my fantastic casting!"

Julian rolled his eyes, shoving him lightly in the shoulder. "Good work, mate. We're both very proud of you."

"You'll make a great Gaston." Caitlin added, and Julian smirked as he caught the backhanded compliment.

Cisco, however, didn't, and beamed at the two of them. "That's what I'm talking about."

Barry and Iris came to the casting list just as they were leaving, lead by a positively _dancing_ Thea. "You've just gotta see this!" She squealed. "We're going to have so much fun on opening night! What with Kara, and Winn and Cisco and you..."

Barry pushed past her and took a look at the list. Iris squealed in excitement and gave him a huge hug. "You did it! You got LeFou!"

"I- I got LeFou!" Barry repeated, eyes glazed like he couldn't quite believe it. "I got LeFou!"

"I know." Iris said, half teasing, half elated. She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him quickly on the lips. Thea stared unabashedly, smiling.

"Come on, Lovebirds." She interrupted finally. "We've got places to be, people to tell, classes to catch." She led them off down the hall, waving at Winn as he walked down the corridor behind them. "Congratulations on getting the part, Winn!"

He gave her a grin, then did a double take and raced to the board. Laughing, Thea broke between her two friends and led them down the hall toward their first class of the day.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Rehearsals started on Friday, and forcing Oliver into the same area as Felicity was _not_ going to be fun. She had gotten the role of one of the girls obsessed with Gaston, and was playing it with angsty fervor.

"Miss Smoak, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but could you _please_ tone down the glaring?" Malcolm said, rubbing his forehead after having to stop the read through for the third time that run.

"Sorry." Felicity grumbled, pasting on a very fake, girly smile and giggling as she read her line.

Siting with Kara, Winn and Cisco, Oliver stared at his feet and let out a sigh. He knew why Felicity was being so aggressive. It was all his fault, and he deserved every glare and every second of silent treatment.

That didn't make it hurt any less, though.

Kara patted his knee. "It'll all work out, Oliver. Don't you worry. If you two are meant to be together, you will be together; I promise."

They were empty promises. Kara couldn't possibly know if Oliver and Felicity were going to work out, but they made Oliver smile sadly and thank her.

The two of them were called up on stage a little bit later to run through the blocking off their first scene together. Conner Hawke -the boy playing Maurice- joined them, and they began.

"Father!" Kara gasped, dropping to her knees as directed in front of Maurice's cage (which was, at the moment, three chairs). "Are you alright?"

"Belle, run!" Conner gasped, holding his paper in front of his face so he could still keep his head up. Kara bit back a giggle at how much it looked like she was talking to someone with a sheet of paper for a face. "Before he gets here."

"He? What do you mean, father?" Kara began to jiggle at the "lock" (one of the chairs). "Who are you talking about-"

"WHO IS THIS?!" Oliver roared from his spot slightly off stage.

Kara let out a little, not entirely faked, gasp of surprise, and whipped around.

"Please- please!" Maurice stuttered, grabbing Kara's hand through the chair. "Please don't hurt her. You can do anything you want to me, just let her go."

Kara jumped to her feet, pulling her hand out of Connor's and walking toward Oliver's entrance point. She glanced down at her lines. "Who are you? I demand you show yourself."

"You don't want me to show myself." Oliver growled, still hidden in shadow.

"Don't be a coward! Come into the light." Belle commanded.

The Beast stepped foreword, and Kara feigned a horrified gasp, staggering backwards. Oliver glowered at her. She had to admit, he was doing a pretty good job with his role. She would not want to come across someone with a glare like that in a dark alley alone.

(**A.N: HAHA get it? I love this story.**)

"Alright, good work you three." Malcolm nodded. "My only notes would be to have your lines and blocking for this short scene memorized by tomorrow- not too much of a tall order, and to practice opening yourself to the audience."

He demonstrated with his feet, having his "open" side facing the auditorium chairs instead of the back of the stage. "It helps with projection and a more realistic scene."

The rest of the afternoon passed in the same fashion, before Malcolm finally circled up the group at 5:00.

"Alright, I know you all have to get home and do your homework, but just remember: All of the scenes we worked on today, if you are in them, memorize your lines and blocking. And if you want to get ahead for future scenes that you are in- go ahead and memorize _those_ lines, too. We're going to try to be off book for scenes 1, 2 and 3 by Tuesday, so please don't drop off practice over the weekend. Everyone got it?"

There were nods and murmurs around the room. Kara yawned and flipped through her script. She would definitely be going ahead with her lines that weekend. She had a_ lot_ to memorize.

Felicity made sure to walk with her as they left school. Kara gave her a hesitant smile. "Look, I know things between you and Oliver are rough right now, but he's really beating himself up over this-"

Felicity's face hardened. "I don't want to talk about it, ok? I just- I don't want to talk about it."

"Ok." Kara said quickly, hands squeezing in her pockets as an awkward silence descended between the two of them.

She was relieved to find her car waiting for her, and gave Felicity a hurried wave before running over to it. Eliza, behind the wheel, gave her a smile. "How was practice?"

"It was good!" Kara yawned again. "It was long, but it was good. I think it'll be fun."

"That's good." Eliza started the car and pulled out of the parking lot at around 5 miles an hour. "I saw you talking with that blond girl, Felicity, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Kara nodded, readjusting her backpack to lie more comfortably on her feet as she began to flip through her script again. "She's was recently dating the boy who's playing the Beast, and they had kind of a... complicated breakup. I was just trying to tell her that Oliver feels really bad, but she totally shut me down."

"Want my advice?" Eliza asked, continuing when Kara nodded. "Don't get involved. It's a high school relationship. If they really want it, they're going to have to figure it out for themselves."

Kara nodded again, but she wasn't sure if she agreed. Oliver and Felicity obviously _did_ want to be together. They just weren't the kind of people that were particularly good at figuring things out.

**Author's Note: So, kinda short filler chapter. Hopefully next chapter will pick up a little!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delayed post, everyone! Friday and Saturday got away from me. **

**We haven't heard from our ladies Sanvers in awhile! Maybe it's time to get them back in the game.**

Maggie and Alex had both decided that, instead of being onstage for the production of Beaty and the Beast, they would run the backstage. They had spoken to Malcolm for permission, and now were being shown the ropes. Like, the literal ropes.

"How do they keep track of all of this?" Maggie murmured to her as she peered at the peeling labels for each of the levers. Each lever was attached to a thick cord, and when pulled, would activate a different backstage feature. So far, they had learned how to open and close the curtains and drop backgrounds one and two (both of which would be used in the play).

"I guess you get used to reading this handwriting after awhile." Alex shrugged, peeking over her shoulder. "I'm pretty sure that says F. Curtain."

"Oh." Maggie frowned. "I thought that was a B."

Alex bit her lip to keep from laughing as one of the stage hands came over. She was exceptionally pretty, with long dark hair and elvin features. "You girls going to be helping with the behind the scenes work?" She asked with a smile.

Alex nodded. "Yeah."

The girl smile wider. "Good to hear. Not a very glorifying job, but _very_ important." She stuck out her hand. "My name is Emily. It's nice to meet you both."

"You too." Maggie told her, shaking her hand. "I'm Maggie and this is Alex."

"Hi." Alex waved awkwardly. "Have you worked here long?"

"No, not really." Emily said. "I just recently graduated from high school and came to intern here while I'm in college. I want to go into a backstage profession though, so this is probably where I'll end up eventually."

"That's really neat." Maggie said.

Emily nodded. "Thanks. If you girls are going to be hanging around here, maybe I could show you around a little? Might help to have someone on the inside helping you out."

Alex opened her mouth, about to decline, but Maggie smiled brighter. "Yeah, that sounds great! Right Alex?"

"Uh... yeah." Alex muttered lamely. She glanced up at Maggie and Emily, exchanging smiles and phone numbers, and suddenly felt weirdly like the third wheel.

What had just happened?

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

It was the end of October, and Halloween was approaching with alarming speed. Sara was frantic to find a halloween costume. Usually, she had one planned out by around August, but she was completely dead on ideas.

And time. Between school work, sports, and friends, she barely had any time to _breath_, much less plan a costume for the Halloween party that someone was _bound_ to invite her to this year. (perks of hanging around with Thea and Iris...)

She went to her friends to see if they were having the same problems, but no one seemed to be.

"I'm going as Belle, obviously." Kara grinned. Sara thought it was kind of a boring idea, considering that she was already going to be Belle that year, but, hey, to each her own.

Thea was going as a pirate. "A _hot_ pirate." She clarified. "With a crop top, and sparkly purple eyeshadow, and huge hoop earrings..." She trailed off, lost in the world of ideas. "It's gonna be sweet."

"I'm going as a journalist." Iris announced happily.

Thea squinted at her. "A... journalist? How do you dress up as a journalist?"

"Well, I'll wear business clothes and have a pad of paper and a pencil and a bun!" Iris explained. "Inexpensive _and_ cute. And better then Barry, who happens to be going as a Tardis."

"Oh man." Thea grinned.

Caitlin was going as an ice princess/snow queen/snow angel. "It's on Cisco's -who's going as R2D2, by the way- bucket list to see me do that for Halloween." She explained with a tolerant eye roll. "You know, because of my last name. Figured I might as well humor him, considering, like, 70% of that stuff on his list is either impossible or Minecraft related."

Sara shook her head with a laugh. "What's Julian going as?"

Caitlin frowned, trying to remember. "I think he's going as a forensic scientist or something. Or maybe a CSI? I can't really remember."

Sara made a face. "What is _up_ with the costumes this year?"

Laughing, Caitlin shrugged. "Just wait until you hear Winn's."

Winn, as it happened was going as, "Tech support!"

"Tech support?!" Sara exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in defeat at the ridiculousness of this year's Halloween costume choices. "What does that even _mean_?!"

"It's like going as a superhero, except more like a sidekick, but better, because I'm actually _useful_." Winn explained happily. "I'll have nerd glasses and a fake computer and some neat fake-hacking tools, ooh! ooh! And a bow tie. It'll be awesome."

"If you say so..." Sara murmured, not that convinced.

Felicity was being extremely secretive about her costume. "It's a surprise!" She said after Thea asked her for the 30th time that lunch session.

Mon-El seemed to be the only one of the Juniors to _not_ have an idea of exactly who he was going to be. However, once he found out who Kara was going as, he lit up like a spark. "Oh! If you're going as Belle, I'll go as Gaston, of course!"

Kara frowned at him. "Um... Gaston? Wouldn't you rather go as the Beast?"

"Oh, yeah, I suppose so." Mon-El responded, considering. "That costume might be a little labor intensive."

They wandered off, debating how he could make a reasonably priced Beast costume. Knowing them, Mon-El would probably just end up going as Gaston.

When Sara got home, she went to Laurel for ideas. Laurel leaned back in her seat, chewing on her pencil. "You know, I'm stuck, too." She admitted. "Maggie's going as a cop, Alex is going as a double agent -not sure how that costume would really be different then a normal agent, but whatever- and Oliver and Diggle are going as a celebrity and his body guard."

"So... pretty much themselves." Sara restated.

Laurel laugh. "Yeah, pretty much. But, hey, at least we know that our costumes will be better then that."

At her mixed martial arts class that weekend, Sara got her first burst on inspiration. Master Al Ghul told them a myth while they were recovering their breath after sparring. It was one about a secret league.

A league of assassins.

"You're going as an _assassin_?" Laurel asked incredulously when Sara got home, sweaty but beaming with excitement. "That's kinda cool."

"I know, right?" Sara grinned, already rooting through her closet. She pulled out black skinny jeans and a thick belt. "I'll wear this with your black turtleneck -please and thank you-, and I'll gel my hair into a super tight high pony tail, and -OH!- do you have that black lace scarf thingy?"

"The bandana?" Laurel asked. "Yeah, sure, you want it?"

"Yes, thanks!" Sara beamed wider, loving this idea. "I bet I will be the_ only _assassin at the Halloween party that is sure to happen!"

True to her prediction, Sara and Laurel soon both received invites to M'gan M'orz's (called Meg by most everyone) Halloween party. She and her boyfriend, J'onn, threw one most every year, and each one was bigger and more explosive then the last. Sara had gone to every single one, without fail, as had all of her friends. Everyone who wanted to come was welcome, which Sara thought was kind of a cool mentality. And unusual, in high school.

Sara's invitation was covered with black glitter, shimmering on top of black card stock with an orange pumpkin in the middle.

_YOU ARE INVITED! _

_Who: Sara Lance (and whoever she'd like to bring that's a Freshmen to Senior) What: The annual Halloween extravaganza!_

_When: Saturday, October 30_

Below that was Meg's house address, complete with a 'see you sooooooon!', the 'o's all differently sized, like a howling ghost's cry.

Thea had gotten one remarkably similar (considering they were home-made), but Iris' had a ghost instead of a pumpkin. Sara stored hers away in a box, where she kept all her other cards and invitations.

Now, Sara's attitude about Halloween had changed entirely. Instead of wanting the time to go as slow as possible, she was urging it along as fast as it could go, not able to wait until she could show off her awesome costume.

But first, she had one thing to do.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Thea also had one more thing to do before Saturday. No one was surprised when she took a sharp left after she entered the cafeteria, heading toward the table in the corner.

"Hi, Roy!" She beamed at him, sitting down right next to him and ignoring his nervous looks around the cafeteria.

"What was our agreement, Thea?" He hissed, scooting away and sliding his tray to follow him. "I will date you if you _promise_ to stop bringing attention to me in school!"

"Nobody's even looking." Thea deflected, hoping that he wouldn't notice that about half the tables around them were watching the two of them with unhidden stares.

Roy rolled his eyes, but at least he didn't move away another seat. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to know if you're coming to the Halloween extravaganza that Meg and J'onn are hosting on Saturday."

"I didn't get an invite." Roy said blandly. "And I didn't really expect to. Nor am I offended."

"Yeah, but..." Thea pulled out her invitation and showed it to him. "It says I can invite whoever I want, as long as they are in high school. You're in high school, and I want to invite you, so... consider yourself invited!" She sat back, satisfied with her logic.

Roy was not. "What if I don't_ want _to go?" He asked. "I'm 16- I'm a little old for trick or treating."

Thea outright laughed. "Oh, no. This isn't trick or treating, Roy Harper. It is _far_ from trick of treating."

Now she had him interested. He fought it valiantly, though. "I don't have a costume."

"Just do something quick." Thea shrugged. "I mean, come one, Oliver's costume includes a dinky pair of giant dark sunglasses. Diggle's is the same thing, and a fake gun."

"What are they supposed to be?" Roy asked, frowning.

"A celebrity and his body guard." Thea grinned. "See, I know you can do better then that."

Roy frowned deeper, but it was more of a contemplative kind of frown, now. She had gotten him interested, so her job was done.

"See you later." Thea said sweetly, kissing his cheek and smiling at their gaping audience as she stood up to go to her normal table.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Sara and Leonard had begun to walk back from soccer practice together again. Sara was glad that everything was back to normal, back to the way it should be, even though Leonard had let her down. She wasn't the kind of girl to hold a grudge against a boy for months, though, especially a boy like Leonard, who obviously felt awful.

In other words, she wasn't Felicity.

Sara used Leonard's usual silence to her advantage that evening as she plopped her backpack comfortably at her feet and sat down on their bench. "Leonard Snart, would you go to the Halloween extravaganza with me?"

"Excuse me?" He gave her a look, one halfway in between incredulous and amused.

"Leonard Snart, would you go to the Halloween extravaganza with me?" Sara repeated, straight faced. "And maybe get your ears checked?"

He was obviously fighting a laugh as he bent down to pull out his water bottle. "I don't think I'm the type that people want at their Halloween party."

"On the contrary." Sara disagreed. "You're _exactly_ the kind of person someone would want at a Halloween party. Tall, handsome, a little dangerous."

Leonard did laugh now, wrapping his arm quick and warm around her in a one-side hug. Sara leaned her head on his chest and sighed happily. "Alright, you sweet talker. I will go to that Halloween party with you. But I'm not dressing up."

"Oh, don't worry about that." Sara said in a _very_ worrying way. "I've got it all under control."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Felicity, in truth, had no idea what she was doing for her costume. She just knew she wanted it to make a statement. Something... revealing, maybe. Something flashy. Something that people wouldn't forget. Because she was _so sick_ of not being remembered.

She surfed the internet for ideas, comparing DIY costumes with her own closet until she was nearly pulling out her hair in frustration. Blond hair. Why did she have to have blond hair? No one in _any_ of the shows she watched had blond hair.

Except...

Felicity started to grin, grabbing a couple of items from her closet and checking her purse to see if she had enough money to go shopping. She was _definitely_ going to make a statement with this outfit.

Felicity grabbed her keys and ran out the door, not bothering to call into an empty house that she would be back for dinner.

**Author's Note: Heheeheh did y'all get my nods to everyones non-AU professions for their Halloween costumes?! That was funnn XD**

**Can anyone guess Felicity's costume? I'll give you a hint- that one doesn't have anything to do with a show.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Time for the Halloween Party!**

**I'm not even sure if these dates match up with how many weeks have passed. Whatever, you know? Don't look into it too much.**

October 30th's night dawned with a boring half moon. Iris sighed up at it as she but on dark red lipstick and pinned her hair into submission. "Isn't Halloween supposed to either be dark or with a full moon?" She asked Barry, who was stenciling the word T-A-R-D-I-S across his forehead in wobbly letters. "Here, let me." She took the pen from him and finished up the job, going back over the other lines to neaten them out.

"Yeah, but it never is." Barry said, glancing out the window as well. "At least it's a foggy night."

"Sort of..." Iris made a face. "It's pretty much just boring."

Joe smiled at the two of them as they came down that stairs. "A journalist and a TARDIS. Doesn't that just describe my two babies so well? One of them has her career all planned out, and the other... the other wants to be a ship."

"I don't want to be a ship!" Barry protested. "I just really like Doctor Who."

"Which was not already made evident by your TARDIS sheets." Iris teased, pecking his cheek and wrapping her arms around him for the pictures Joe was taking.

They made their way out the door late (as usual), because Barry couldn't find his special TARDIS socks.

"Can't you just use blue ones?" Iris asked desperately, checking her watch and texting Thea to tell them they would be a few minutes behind schedule.

_Already allowed for about 10, so no worries :D_ Thea sent back, and Iris bit back a groan. Did the two of them have _that_ bad of a reputation for not being on time that her friend actually _allowed_ for them to be late?

"I can't use the blue ones." Barry called back. "Because they don't match. Oh, I found them- they were under my bed. Ok, let's go."

"Yes, _let's_." Iris muttered, grabbing his hand and dragging him out the door to the car.

They met Thea, Sara, Roy and surprisingly _Leonard_, who was shifting uncomfortably, almost unrecognizable in a black thief's mask.

Sara had a mask as well, lacy and black, covering the bottom half of her face. The rest of her almost blended into Thea's black van she was so dark, the only color on her a splotch of moonlight-reflecting white. Her favorite leather boots.

Thea had a loose fitting, purple crop top, and enormous gold dangly earrings. She was wearing short, high heeled gold boots and jean booty shorts, her dark hair braided in different sections and tied off with purple ties. Her eyelids were heavy with sparkly purple eyeshadow, and her lips were a nude brown shade.

Roy was dressed pretty much identical to his normal self. Iris tilted her head. "What are you supposed to be?"

"I'm a thug." Roy said, smirking. "Thea said I got to pick my costume."

"So _of course _he picks a thug!" Thea sighed, obviously exasperated. She linked arms with him, making him look almost as uncomfortable as Leonard. "But that's ok. I'll be the pirate, and he'll be my goods dealer. Now, Mr. Allen, what are _you_ supposed to be?"

"I'm a TARDIS." Barry stated. "Obviously."

Sara laughed, her half-mask blowing with the force of her breath. Barry peered at you. "What are _you_?"

"I'm an assassin." Sara said, grinning maniacally. "And look, I've even got bow staffs!" She pulled two long poles from sheaths at her back and swung them around, pretending to attack Leonard.

He fended her off with his forearms, eyes going soft in a way Iris hadn't seen on him before. "Really, assassin?"

"You are my newest target, crook!" She yelled, running at him. "I've been lying in bed, fully clothed, waiting for the call to come and attack you!"

Dead silence and confused glances to see if anyone else got it met that declaration. Sara stopped attacking Leonard. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you haven't seen Jason Borne."

"Um..." Iris said, trying not to laugh. "I haven't seen Jason Borne."

"Forget the crook!" Sara cried, running at her. "You are my new target!"

Once their giggling, excited energy had finally been corralled into Thea's van, the youngest Queen started the car and drove them to Meg's house.

When they arrived, Iris leaned out of her window, jaw dropping. Thea nudged Roy. "See? I told you it would be awesome."

Awesome was probably an understatement. The M'orz's house was decorated from front stoop to chimney with ripped black fabric and fake cottony spider webs. They had a set-up graveyard in their front lawn, complete with at least 7 tombstones and skeletal hands and arms sticking out from some of them. A bloody head sat on the Welcome mat, blank eyes staring and mouth open and moaning as soon as they walked up the steps.

The door creaked. It actually, literally creaked, and Iris shivered at the noise. She loved this feeling of intentional fear that creepy houses and Halloween brought. Clinging to Barry's hand, she stepped inside.

Inside the house, it was a completely different story. Bright, black lights decorated the interior, as did large carved jack-o-lanterns. Kids were already milling around, snacking on green "slime" punch and bat shaped cookies.

Sara dragged Leonard over to the food almost immediately with promises of "the best pumpkin shaped crackers he had ever eaten". Thea and Roy wandered off in a different direction, probably looking for Meg to tell her what an amazing party she had set up. Iris and Barry walked into the M'orz kitchen, looking around and admiring everyone else's costumes.

The first people they bumped into that they knew were Caitlin, Julian and Cisco. Cisco had the best R2D2 costume Iris had ever seen (well, it was also the _only_ R2D2 costume she had ever seen, but whatever), complete with a domed head that rested on top of his own like an oversized helmet.

Julian looked pretty much the same as always, but was dressed in a pressed collard shirt and dark blue tie and slacks. He had a silver case in one hand and a clip-on badge that read, _Julian Albert- Forensic Scientist_, in neat, printed letters.

"Caitlin..." Barry said, awed. "You look really pretty."

"Thanks, Barry." Caitlin said, and Iris turned her gaze to her friend.

Caitlin had on a flowing white dress, sparkling with what looked like ice but was probably just small beads. It had a deep, sweetheart neckline, but the skin of her chest that was exposed was covered in white lace, giving the whole dress the evil-queen look that she desired. Her ears were hung with long, dangly snowflake earrings, matching the necklace and her charm bracelet.

When asked later how she had so much snowflake paraphernalia, Caitlin would sigh, and say that everyone thought that giving her something snow-related was immensely creative and clever, just because it matched her last name.

To finish of the outfit, Caitlin was wearing dark blue, knee high, high heeled boots and a sparkling tiara on her auburn bun.

Julian smiled at her, apparently agreeing with Barry that Caitlin looked absolutely beautiful. Cisco grinned. "Bucket list item number 27- Check!"

Iris laughed, nodding appreciatively. "You look fantastic, girl. Totally ice queen/snow princess/snow angel."

Caitlin beamed happily. "Thanks, Iris. You look great, too. Totally like a reporter. And I love the TARDIS costume, Barry."

"The letters on your forehead are great." Cisco agreed, grinning.

They stood around talking for a little bit, grabbing some punch from a nearby table and rating people's costumes as they went by. Iris spotted Oliver and Diggle across the room, looking pretty much normal, except for matching pairs of giant black sunglasses covering the top halves of their faces, and a fake gun hanging on Diggle's waistband.

The two boys were met by three other Seniors- Maggie, Alex, and Laurel. Maggie was all decked out in a flawless cop uniform, complete with a fake gun (similar to John's) and a gold badge. Alex was in all black, like Sara, with a chunky utility belt around her waist and clingy black clothing everywhere else.

Laurel had her brown hair in two high pigtails, the red and blue dyed strands giving away almost immediately who she was. She had on a white, short sleeve shirt, and on top of that a leather jacket; one half blue and the other half red.

"Hello, Harley Quinn." Diggle grinned, looking up and down her racy nylon-covered legs with a grin.

"I know, it's not very original. I think this is, like, the most worn costume of this Halloween." Laurel sighed, tugging on a pigtail. "But I really couldn't think of anything else. And it was so fun."

"Too bad your hair's not blond." Oliver said.

"Yeah, I could have gotten a wig, but I think it's pretty obvious who I am." Laurel shrugged. "At least more obvious then you two."

Diggle let out a deep chuckle. "Guilty as charged." He said. "But we were pressed on time."

"And ideas." Oliver added. He glanced around quickly. "Hey... have either of you seen Felicity?"

"You're not planning on trying to win her back tonight, are you?" Laurel asked suspiciously. "Because she deserves time, just like anyone else."

"No, no." Oliver said quickly. "No. I just want to see what she's wearing. She wouldn't tell anyone her costume."

Now that he had the five of them also scanning the room, they spotted Felicity pretty quickly. She was talking with Kara and Mon-El, dressed like Belle and... Gaston?

Oliver tilted his head. "Who is she?"

Alex laughed suddenly. "Oh my gosh. She went as Luna. That's _awesome_."

Felicity had giant glasses, one half blue and the other a light purply pink, with strange spikes around the edges. Her hair was longer then usual (_thank you_ extensions) and curled lightly at the edges. It fell across her poofy, yellow and brown striped dress; the same dress Luna had worn in the Harry Potter movies, and her ears were dominated with what looked like giant, plastic radishes.

Maggie and Alex immediately bolted over to her, babbling about her awesome costume and how much she looked like Luna Lovegood. Felicity beamed, looking beautiful and happy, and Oliver had to physically resist the urge to run over and get her back, for once and for all. The reason he wasn't by her side tonight was his fault, and he had to pay for it.

Kara and Mon-El stood and talked with the Cop and the Double Agent while Felicity went to get some food. "So, what inspired you to go as Gaston?" Maggie asked, frowning. "I mean, don't get me wrong- it's very original. I just thought you would want to go as her love interest. Not her... enemy."

"Yeah, but we couldn't find a Beast costume that was inexpensive enough." Mon-El shrugged. "Trust me, we tried."

"Did we _ever_." Kara added.

"But we couldn't find one. And I didn't think anyone would get who I was if I went as the Beast's alter-human ego. So I went as Gaston."

"I see." Maggie nodded, exchanging a grin with Alex.

"Kara told me you're a double agent." Mon-El said to Alex. "Now, tell me, are there any costume differences from double agent to normal agent?"

"No." Alex said, shrugging. "But it's more fun to be a double agent then a normal agent."

Partway across the room, Thea and Roy had located M'Gann, and were talking with her and J'onn.

"Fantastic party, as usual." Thea gushed, in typical Thea fashion. "I love the graveyard outside. Really adds a horror movie flair that I know we _all_ love."

Roy stood uncomfortably to the side, nodding along robotically and resisting the urge to check his watch. They had literally _just_ gotten there- they weren't leaving anytime soon.

"Oh, thanks." M'Gann smiled. "We had fun." She smiled at her boyfriend, and J'onn nodded, looking much more comfortable then Roy felt. Roy frowned in jealousy. How could some people engage in mindless chit-chat so easily? It always made him feel like he wanted to crawl into a hole. Or just ignore everyone and go get burgers and fries or something.

His gaze wandered across the room, bored with the conversation. Leonard Snart was over by the snack table with one of Thea's girlfriends. Roy wasn't sure what to think about that. Leonard seemed to be pretty hard core bad-boy to him. He had been rumored to be in juvie for most of his sophomore year, though no one seemed to know if that was a true or if he just simply hadn't come to school.

He certainly seemed to be the tough, juvie type. Unless he was with Sara. When he was with Sara, Roy saw him go soft.

Roy wondered if that's what people thought about him, right now, standing with none other then Thea Queen.

Right now, Leonard was enduring Sara's chatter about the cookies, a new desert, she said, at the halloween party.

"Aren't they _good_?"

"They're cookies." Leonard shrugged, taking another one anyway and sticking it in his mouth. He could use as much sugar-energy as he could get if he was going to put up with _this_ an entire night.

"Yeah, but there so _good_!" Sara repeated, swinging her staff around and just barely avoiding hitting someone with it.

Leonard grabbed her arm, stopping her from doing any more possible destruction. As usual, sparks shot up his hand on contact, and he gulped, trying to avoid looking at her. She caught his gaze anyway, and smiled in an adorable, breathy way.

Leonard dropped her arm. "You should probably put that away before you hurt someone." He muttered.

"Whatever you say, crook." Sara said teasingly, somehow finding a way to bop him on the nose through his mask and tucking away her staff.

Leonard gulped, and grabbed another cookie.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

A little while into the party, M'gan turned on some music, and the guests helped free up some space in the main room. It wasn't great music for slow dancing, but Julian turned to Caitlin and extended a cautious hand.

"I know that... that we didn't get much of a Homecoming experience. Or really, one at _all_..." He trailed off, looking ashamed. "Which is entirely my fault. I'd- I'd like to make up for it. Dance with me, Caitlin?"

Caitlin couldn't help the soft smile that spread across her face. "Of course, Julian. I'd love to."

He tugged her onto the floor, and they slow danced to the disco music blasting through the speakers.

Barry and Iris watched them with very similar looking smiles on their faces. "You know," Iris commented. "We did a pretty good job, didn't we?"

Barry looked at her with a worried glance. "Wait. Don't tell me you actually got Hunter Zolomon to attack Caitlin."

"Of course not!" Iris protested, jaw dropping. "What kind of a horrible friend do you think I am? I was just meaning that we got her to realize her feelings. You know, like matchmaker fairy godmothers or something."

"Oh, great." Barry sighed. "I'm a fairy godmother now."

Iris laughed and kissed his cheek. "Barry Allen, you have _always_ been a fairy godmother."

Barry frowned, trying to figure out if he should take it as a compliment or act manly and offended. Iris grabbed his hand and rested her head on his bicep, smiling up at him. "And I love you even more for it."

He decided to take it as a compliment, and pulled her out to dance.

Halfway across the room, Oliver was trying to get close enough to Felicity to talk with her. If he could just explain what had happened, maybe tell her about his hope that she would be Belle and he could be the Beast, then maybe she would understand and forgive him.

Before he could go anywhere, Laurel had grabbed his arm and dragged him forcibly onto the dance floor.

"Oh no you don't, Mr. Queen."

"What did I do now?" Oliver asked guiltily, trying to resist the urge to glance yet again at Felicity.

"You are not going to wreck Felicity's night of fun and brief popularity with your dumb attempts to win her back." Laurel scolded, frowning at him.

"Brief populari- what are you _talking_ about?" Oliver asked, squinting at her as she forced him into spinning her. "Felicity's popular."

"No, she's not. She was popular for about a week when you two were dating, and now she's popular because her costume is _amazing_ and she in putting herself into the open with confidence that you don't usually get to see behind those glasses." Laurel said. "She doesn't _need_ to be popular- we all love her anyway- but a girl needs to feel like she's noticed once and awhile, especially when she's just gone through a breakup-"

"Yeah, well, that wasn't my fault." Oliver snapped, yanking his arm away and taking an angry step back. "I don't need you telling me what to do, and I wasn't going to go mess with Felicity's 'perfect evening', anyway. She obviously doesn't need me to be happy, so why try?"

He turned abruptly around and pushed through the crowd of dancers and out the door. Laurel started after him, but she had only taken a few steps before someone grabbed her arm.

She turned and saw Felicity watching her with a mix of a frustration and gratitude. "Laurel... you shouldn't have said anything."

"Yeah, I should have." Laurel said, her chin high in the air as she tried to justify her actions, even though she began to feel a flush of embarrassment crossing her cheeks. "It our job as females to defend each other from guys' insulting natures. Oliver brought this upon himself-"

"And he knows that already. He doesn't need anyone telling him." Felicity said softly. "While I appreciate you, uh, defending my honor, Oliver is dealing with self-inflicted consequences that you don't need to add to." She sighed, looking past Laurel and at the door, even though Oliver was long gone. "That's not to say I'm not still furious with him and his stupid, hypocritical actions, but..."

"You still have feelings for him, don't you?" Laurel realized.

Felicity just sighed again, not responding for awhile. When she _did_ respond, she pasted a smile on her face. "We should get back to the party, right? Halloween only comes around once a year."

"Yeah." Laurel agreed slowly, unsure. "I guess so."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

It was nearly 11 o'clock when people started to filter home. Felicity wasted no time in wishing her friends good night and driving home. Laurel was disappointed. She liked Felicity, and had hoped to get another opportunity to discuss her difficulties with Oliver.

Laurel had known Oliver for years. They had met in 6th grade, and they and Diggle had been mostly inseparable ever since. When Oliver had revealed that he had feelings for Laurel, she had been more upset than most when asked on a date by an attractive, buff Junior who was obviously crazy about her. What Oliver didn't seem to understand (at least at the time) was that Laurel valued their friendship. She _got_ Oliver, almost to the same level that Diggle did. She knew what made him tick, and she knew how to keep him in check, and she always, _always_, knew what the right thing was to say to him when he was about to do something stupid.

That night had probably been the first time where something she had said had truly upset him (save for when she told him she didn't feel the same), and it set a heavy weight of guilt over her shoulders. Maybe she had overstepped her boundaries- even after 6 years of a tight, unbreakable friendship.

Laurel put it out of her mind for now. She waited for Maggie and Alex by the door (Sara was going home with Thea and the rest of their friends), watching them say goodbye and thank M'Gann and J'onn before coming to join her.

"Ready?" Laurel asked, pulling her keys out of her pocket.

The other two nodded, and they walked together to Laurel's jeep.

Still at the party, Thea was resisting her boyfriends obvious want to leave. "Come on, Thea, I've been here all night." Roy begged, fidgeting and glancing around at the remaining people in the house. "You know this kind of social event isn't really my thing."

"Fine." Thea huffed. "Thanks, M'Gann and J'onn! See you guys on Monday!"

The two young hosts waved as Roy dragged his girlfriend toward the door.

When they arrived at Thea's van, Iris and Barry were already there, laying on the grass of the front lawn and looking up at the stars.

Barry was in the middle of a in-depth description of all of the constellations, and Iris was nodding along with a faint smile on her face, her eyes mostly focused on him.

"Hey, lovebirds, we're going home, okay?" Thea called out.

Barry bopped into a sitting position, cutting off mid sentence. "Okay! Coming, Iris?"

"Where are Sara and Leonard?" Iris asked, taking the hand he extended to help her up.

Thea shrugged, glancing at the door. "Probably making out somewhere in a corner. Let's give them a few minutes."

They waited for awhile, but Sara and Leonard never showed. Eventually, the front door closed and lights began to turn off in the house as the last of the guests filtered out, and the group gave up and began the drive home.

In actuality, Sara and Leonard were _not_ making out in a corner- or anywhere else, for that matter. They had left about 2 hours after the party started, Leonard complaining about a headache and Sara starting to feel claustrophobic and overwhelmed with so many people and the blaring music.

They had made a break for the door with a quick goodbye to the night's hosts, and stepped into the clear, cold air of the October night.

All Sara had to do was shiver once and rub her arms, and Leonard took off his black outer layer and draped it over her shoulders. Sara smiled up at him. "Thanks, but I don't want you to be cold."

"I'll be fine." Leonard said softly.

Sara reached over and slipped her hand into his, not looking at him as his gaze shot to her. They made the easy decision not to call anyone to pick them up, and started to walk home instead.

The first couple of minutes was spent in silence, the only sound the soft rustle of Autumn leaves in the breeze and their footsteps hitting the sidewalk.

"I just... I want to say thanks." Leonard said finally, glancing over at her again.

"What for?" Sara asked, smiling at him.

"For, you know, inviting me."

"No problem." Sara bit her bottom lip, swinging their arms as they walked. "You know, I, um..." She could feel her heart beat in her ears, and her stomach was twisting with nerves, but she couldn't seem to stop her mouth from moving. "I, uh, I _like_ you, Leonard. So I, you know, wanted to. Invite you, I mean."

He was frowning, but Sara hoped it was just decoding what she said instead of a sign that he was upset.

"I... good."

"Good?"

Leonard cleared his throat. "Yeah. I like you, too."

"Leonard Snart." Sara pulled up short, peering into his face. "Are you blushing?"

Leonard blushed harder and tugged on her hand to keep her moving. "Of course not, Assassin."

"Whatever you say, Crook."

**Author's Note: OMG COLD CANARY IS LIIIIIFE! Why don't I write more of them, guys? WHYYYYYY?!**

**Well I mean probably because Leonard is dead and I haven't gotten and ColdCanary inspo since Season 1 of Legends. But semantics XD**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Back again! It's almost Winter... which means it's almost Winter Formal! Sort of. I mean, it's gonna be awhile. But stilll :D **

After the buzz of the Halloween faded, things started to mellow back to normal. There were tests to take and Winter Formal dreams to plan and sports to.. um... participate in...?

The kids at AV High started to settle into a sort of routine. Wake up, have breakfast (well, most of the time, anyway), go to school, come home, do homework, have dinner, do homework.

Kara and Oliver had started spending more time together, practicing their lines and reviewing blocking as the school play came creeping up on them. Kara had never actually acted in a stage production before, and she was surprised at how much _work_ it was. Alex and Maggie were feeling the pressure almost as much as the cast, forced to learn all of the behind-the-scenes lingo and tech double time.

That was when the yearly (but still never anticipated) bug hit the school. It spread like germs always seem to- fast and deadly, infecting all of the overworked, sleep deprived kids it came in contact with.

Felicity was the first of the daily table group to get sick. She fell asleep during class on Thursday and then woke up with a fever. Her teacher sent her to the nurse immediately, and she wasn't seen again until Monday.

Barry was the next to fall, and it was no surprise when Iris caught it, too. Kids were warned to wash their hands as much as possible and, if they _did_ start to feel sick, to go to the nurse's office and be sent home. So far, the teachers had managed to avoid catching whatever this new disease was, and they wanted to keep it that way.

On Thursday, Julian came to school looking absolutely terrible. Caitlin took one look at him and shook her head. "You, sir, are going to the nurse's office _right now_."

"Don't be ridiculous." Julian mumbled, burrowing into his giant sweatshirt and sniffling. "I'm not sick, and I'm not going to the nurse. I literally just walked in the door."

"Great!" Caitlin said, steering him down the hall. "Then you can call your parents to come pick you up and they'll barely have to drive because they barely had time to leave."

"My parents didn't drop me off." Julian huffed. "I took the bus." He shook her arm off and began to walk to his locker. "I feel perfectly fine, Caitlin. I appreciate the concern, but I'm going to school today."

With a groan, Caitlin threw up her hands and gave up. "Fine!" She exclaimed. "But if Cisco or I or anyone else gets sick, we are all blaming you."

By the time lunch rolled around, about 3 teachers had already asked Julian if he was feeling okay. He had responded with a forcible _"YES" _each time, and they had given him a searching look and not pressed the subject.

Caitlin, however, wasn't giving up.

"Dude, you look pretty bad." Cisco said, nodding at Julian as he slumped into his usual seat and put his head down on the table.

"Thank you, Cisco." Julian muttered sarcastically. "I appreciate the support."

"Why won't you just go home, Julian?" Caitlin asked in exasperation. "I promise I will bring you all of your work assignments. You won't miss a thing! And you can go home and get some sleep, and be back in only a few days. You'll probably just miss today and Friday-"

"I don't like going to the nurses office, okay?" Julian burst out. "I never go. _Never_. Not even when I sprained my wrist in 3rd grade."

Caitlin pursed her lips. "You don't need to worry about that. Nurse Gideon is _super_ nice. I remember when I got mono and came to school anyway, because I wanted to have a perfect attendance record- you know how it is- and she has this great selection of books to read while your waiting for your parents to pick you up. Harry Potter and Agatha Christy and stuff like that. And she explains everything that she's doing, and she treats you like an adult.."

"You got mono and still came to school and your ragging on _me_?" Julian said incredulously.

Caitlin groaned. "All of what I just said, and that's the only thing you retained?"

Cisco laughed, then regarded Caitlin with a frown. "How do I not remember you getting mono?"

"It was freshman year." Caitlin shrugged. "I don't know how you could forget that." She turned her attention back to Julian. "Anyway, you've got nothing to be afraid of. Look," She took one more giant bite of her PB+J, and then stuffed it back into her lunch bag. "I'll even take you. Come on- no arguing. You look like your going to pass out."

Julian gave Cisco a look that clearly read _'Help me!'_

Cisco just shrugged. "It's your own fault. You got yourself into this when you asked her out."

Julian groaned pathetically and let Caitlin drag him out of his seat and toward a nearby teacher.

The teacher let them go immediately- partially from Julian's appearance, but mostly because if they were faking it to get out of work, why would they ask to leave during their break of the day?

Caitlin and Julian walked down the hall in silence only broken by Julian's occasional sniffle. Nurse Gideon was at the door when they arrived at the nurse's office, talking to the parents of a girl Caitlin didn't recognize. She took one look at Julian and sent them in to wait for a couple of minutes.

When Nurse Gideon returned, she looked frazzled. Caitlin had the hunch that Julian was _not_ her first patient of the day. Or her second. Or her third.

Nurse Gideon gave Caitlin a half smile, half strange look as she walked over. "Are you _both_ sick?"

"Oh, no, just him." Caitlin smiled politely. "I'm here for the... moral support, so to speak."

"Okay." Nurse Gideon said, brow furrowing. She let it drop, however, and rooting through a drawer to find a thermometer. She swiped it across Julian's forehead and it beeping.

Nurse Gideon peered at the results. "103.4. You, sir, are definitely sick."

Caitlin gave him a triumphant glance and resisted the urge to say _I told you so_. Julian let out a sigh, and Nurse Gideon smiled. "I'll buzz the office to call your parents."

Julian straightened up. "There's no point."

"Excuse me?"

"They won't come pick me up, if they even take the call at all." Julian shrugged. "They know me, and they know I can tough it out. I got the flu in 5th grade and they didn't come then, so why would they come now? It's just a cold- I can go back to class-"

"No, you most certainly can _not,_ young man." Nurse Gideon said sternly, seeming perturbed by what Julian had just told her. "I'm sure that your parents will come to pick you up if I tell them that you have a high fever and cannot stay in a school environment where you have the possibility of infecting other students."

With that, she had turned and strode out of her office and toward the secretary's. Julian let out a sigh and shook his head. "I commend her for trying, but she's just wasting her time."

He was right. In a few minutes, Nurse Gideon came back into the room. She looked extremely annoyed, and pointed her finger at Julian. "When you get home- and you _will_ be going home today- tell your parents to give me a call. I need to have... words with them."

Caitlin felt a grin bloom over her face, and even Julian cracked a smile. "Thanks, but it's really okay. I'm sure if I had something really bad they would come and-"

"This _is_ really bad." Nurse Gideon huffed. "And certainly bad enough to pick up their son from school."

Julian started to stand up, rubbing his nose and yawning simultaneously. "So I'm free to go?"

"Certainly not!" Nurse Gideon was starting to look extremely frazzled. "Isn't there _anyone_ who could bring you home?"

"I'd ask my mom," Caitlin spoke up. "But she's conducting an all-day experiment in her lab today and probably wouldn't pick up her phone for anything short of a school shooting." She shrugged, almost smiling at Nurse Gideon's expression. "She gets kind of sucked in."

"What about your father?" Nurse Gideon suggested. "Could he bring Julian home?"

Caitlin's face fell, and Julian frowned. "Uh, her dad..."

"My dad died a few years ago." Caitlin said softly. She cut of Nurse Gideon's horrified apologies and pasted on a smile. "But I could call Cisco's mom. She works from home and I'm sure she would be happy to pick Julian up."

That settled, Nurse Gideon sent a quick call out to Mrs. Ramon, explaining the situation and asking (or pleading, depending on how you looked at it) her to come pick Julian up.

It was almost the end of lunch by the time Mrs. Ramon arrived, and Caitlin's stomach was growling. Julian had tried to get her to go back to the lunchroom, but she had refused. "I said I would take you to the nurse's office. I'm not leaving now."

"If I wasn't so sick, I would kiss you right now." Julian said bluntly, and Caitlin turned bright red, shooting a glance over at Nurse Gideon to make sure she hadn't heard.

She had, but the nurse just smiled and kept her back turned.

After a little while, Mrs. Ramon showed up. She gave Caitlin a hug and led Julian to her car. Before he got in, Julian turned back to his girlfriend and gave her a smile. "Thanks for forcing me into not staying in class."

"No problem." Caitlin responded, kissing his cheek. "Making sure you're not being stupid is part of my job."

He laughed, and got into the car.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Alex and Maggie were waiting backstage for play practice to start, talking quietly and going over their notes. They were doing a run through of act 1 today, slowly adding on props and set pieces and lighting and backdrops. Alex was nervous, even though she wasn't going to be onstage until her set move in scene 4, when they transitioned into the Beast's castle.

"Hey, I'm going to grab some water, alright?" Alex said, standing up and stretching. "I want to have it set backstage in case we get thirsty during the run and can't leave."

"Alright." Maggie smiled one of her bright, beautiful smiles up at her and Alex felt butterflies erupt in her stomach. "Do you mind grabbing me one, too?"

"Sure." Alex smiled back and quickly walked up the theater steps.

On her way, she passed Emily coming down from the main building. Emily gave her a friendly wave and walked directly over to Maggie. Alex averted her eyes as Maggie jumped to her feet and gave her a huge grin.

It made sense, if Alex thought about it. Emily was backstage as much as they were, and had taught Alex and Maggie almost everything they knew. Maggie had the perfect right to be _very_ friendly with Emily. And Emily was a nice person. She treated them like adults (well, they practically _were_ adults, but still), and managed to be the right fractions of funny, goofy, focused and good at her job. Alex still couldn't stand her.

Maybe it was because Emily was beautiful and confident and perfect for Maggie.

Which was ridiculous, because Maggie hadn't said a single thing about liking Emily. And Emily hadn't said a single about being gay. Still, Alex could help the jealous, aching feeling that went on inside her whenever they smiled at each other.

_It's because you were too late. _She thought. _You didn't ask her to Homecoming. You didn't even try_.

Winter formal was the next dance. It was still quite a ways away, but maybe if Alex got her act together, she could figure out a say to build up enough nerve and ask Maggie to go with her.

It wasn't likely, but she could hope.

As Alex came back into the room with her plastic water bottles from the cafeteria, she paused, hearing Maggie and Emily's voices.

"Winter Formal's coming soon, huh?" Maggie said. Alex froze, ducking against the wall. Eavesdropping was something that she was hardwired _never_ to do, but how could she not?

"Yeah." Alex could hear the smile in Emily's voice. "I remember going when I was a senior. I was asked by this super nice guy. We went as friends, of course, but it was still a lot of fun. You have someone you want to ask?"

"Yeah." Maggie said. "Actually, I was going to ask-"

Alex couldn't bare to hear anymore. Guilt swamped her and she made a big show of stomping down the stairs. "Hey, I got your water." She proclaimed loudly.

Maggie jumped, let out a gasp. "I- Alex! Hi!"

Later that night, as Alex lay in bed, unable to sleep, part of her regretted not waiting to see who Maggie was going to ask to Winter Formal.

Had it been her?

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

At lunch time on one of the days that Iris was still out sick, Thea and Sara found themselves sitting at their table, alone for the moment.

It was kind of nice, having it just be the two of them. Not that they didn't absolutely _love_ Iris, but the one on one time was reminiscent of previous years of high school- years that both of them missed.

"I had an idea." Thea said as they waited for more people to join their table.

"Should I be scared?" Sara asked mildly, sipping from her water bottle.

"Huh?" Thea squinted at her. "No... at least, I don't think so."

"Okay. Go ahead."

Thea nodded. "Alright. So, we both have probably noticed that we have to boyfriends that are quite similar. You know, antisocial, bad boys, that kind of thing. I was thinking that you, me, Roy and Leonard should go on a double date. The two boys could talk and we could have a nice evening out and all get to know each other a little more."

Sara was smirking. "Um... not that I'm sure they won't positively _love _that idea, how about we wait until Len and I go on a_ one_ couple date, instead of jumping straight to a double date?"

Thea blinked at her. "Wait... you and Snart haven't gone on a date yet?"

"We're not technically dating." Sara shrugged. Then she tilted her head to one side. "At least... I don't think we are."

"You are _so_ dating!" Thea exclaimed. "You brought him to the Halloween party, and you were going to go to Homecoming together, except he stood you up. And anyway, if you haven't gone on any dates, how do you know each other so well? It's not like you guys hang out outside of school, and you're in different years."

"We sit together every day after practice because my dad is always late in picking me up." Sara shrugged. "And we're pretty much friends. Who occasionally hold hands."

"Ahh, so your friends with perks." Thea nodded in understanding. "I see."

"Whatever you wanna call it." Sara shrugged again, and opened up her lunch. "But as to the double date, and can't exactly see Roy and Leonard getting into that."

"Oh, come on. Like they could say no to us! They obviously adore us, Sara."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Look who's got an inflamed sense of her own self-importance," she muttered.

But, after soccer practice, she found herself fidgeting on a bench next to Leonard, trying to figure out how to broach the subject of a double date with Thea and Roy. Or the subject of a date at all.

"You know, if you want to tell me something, you can just say it."

"Huh?" Sara's eyes shot to his. "I, um... how did you know?"

"Your face is an open book." Leonard smirked. "Or maybe it's closed, and it just has a very expressive title."

Sara giggled. Then she wrinkled her nose. "So, it's not exactly something _I_ have to ask you. It's more something that Thea want's to ask you... through me."

"I see. Go on."

"Uh, yeah." Sara played with her watch. "She wants all of us -like, her and Roy and the two of us- to go on a double date all together."

There was silence for a moment. Leonard leaned back in his seat. "And what did you tell her?"

"I said that I didn't think you'd really want to come." Sara glanced at her hands. "And that, you know, we should probably not have a double date with Thea and Roy be our first date."

Leonard was silent for another long moment. "I'm trying to figure out if that's your way of asking me on a date."

Sara's cheeks turned pink and she twisted her hands together harder. "Um... sort of? I mean... I don't really know what we are at this point. I take you to social stuff and we make plans to go to a dance and we talk and occasionally hold hands and stuff, and I would normally immediately assume that was dating, but it's _you_ and it just seems so different."

"I would suppose it does." Leonard said, unhelpfully.

They fell into silence. "So..." Sara finally said. "Are you coming on the double date with me, Thea and Roy?"

"Why not?" Leonard shrugged. "Just as long as I don't have to wear a suit."

"I'm sure you don't have to worry about that." Sara assured him, smiling happily.

"And when, exactly, would this double date be?"

"I don't really know when- why?"

"Because I'd like to take you to dinner before that. Just you. And me."

"You and me?" Sara bit her lip, trying not to squeal. "Sounds great."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Thea and Roy's discussion about the double date didn't go quite as smoothly. Thea called Roy the night after she had talked to Sara at lunch, figuring that he would agree immediately and she could text her friend to see how she had done.

Not so much.

"No."

"Excuse me?" Thea said, shocked.

"No." Roy repeated, even more emphatically, if that was possible. "I'm not going on some dumb double date with _your_ friend."

"You like Sara!" Thea argued. "You went to the Halloween party in the same car as her! And you and Leonard are practically in the same league of bad boy. You'll get along just fine."

"I said _no_, Thea." Roy insisted. "I don't want to go."

"Come on, Roy!" Thea exploded. "I already said that you would. Why won't you come? It'll be fun, and we barely go out and do anything together, even though we _are_ dating."

"Yeah, well who's fault is that?" Roy snapped. "You're the one who has an after school activity nearly every single evening, and on the weekends it's all friends, friends, friends! I don't fit in to your "oh-so-important" schedule, so, yeah, we don't hang out that often. That's not _my _fault."

Thea opened her mouth, raring with a comeback, but the call ended before she could. She cursed angrily and tossed it across the room.

She would give him a couple of days of her completely ignoring him. Then, once he saw what he was missing, he would come crawling back like any other boy she had ever dated.

After a couple of minutes of staring at the ceiling, however, Thea started to feel guilty. She had acted like a total brat, assuming that he would want to do something that she had already signed him up for without asking, and getting mad when he gave her the straight answer of 'no'.

The thing was, Roy _wasn't_ like any other boy she had ever dated. He was special, and she actually cared about him. He wasn't a fling or a phase or something for her own amusement. He was _Roy_.

Sighing heavily, Thea picked up her phone and sent him a quick text. _I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated u like that. 4give me?_

It took him until after dinner to respond (and she only knew that because she broke the "family rule" and kept her phone on her during dinner. This was important!).

_Guess so_

It wasn't much- Roy was never one for long texts or even using question marks (that annoyed her to no end), but it was something, at least. She just hoped it was enough.

**Author's Note: Bit of an abrupt ending... but that is a-okay, because I think this chapter was long enough!**

**This'll be the last post (of this story, anyway) before Christmas, so Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, everyone! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Just to give you a general idea of the time, this is taking place sometime in November. I know I occasionally throw out months, but I figured I'd give you (and me) a checkpoint.**

Just about everyone at school was ready for Thanksgiving break to come around. The students, the teachers, the lunch ladies... it was making them all restless as the forth Thursday in November (AKA the start of Thanksgiving break) came creeping closer and closer.

In the meantime there was the school play practice, and Sara had a few soccer games here and there on the weekends. The girls team was doing pretty well, better then the boys, for once, which made Sara happy.

"Maybe next year at the opening night Coach Merlin with rub it in the boy's face that we did awesome and they need to shape up." Amaya said hopefully as she and Sara walked to the changing room after practice.

"It's always possible." Sara shrugged. "But we both know how sexist he is."

Amaya sighed, pulling off her gear and tossing it haphazardly in her bag. It was a Friday evening and they were both tired- both from a week at school and from practice.

"See you at the game on Saturday?"

"Yup." Sara nodded, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and peering across the field in search of Leonard. "Hard to play the game without your foreword."

Amaya laughed, and Sara waved and jogged out the door.

Halfway across the field, Oliver and Diggle were also coming back from practice.

Out of the blue, Diggle asked, "So, Oliver, you planning on making up with Felicity anytime soon?"

"I- _what_?!" Oliver stared at him, confused. "Where did that come from?"

"Well, you know. Winter Formal is coming up in a couple of months, and I don't think you want her asking someone else. Or someone else asking her." Diggle shrugged. "I'm just looking out for you, man. Girls have to be dealt with with the utmost delicacy."

"So I've noticed." Oliver grumbled. "Look, man, I don't exactly know what I would say-"

"How about sorry?" Diggle suggested.

"Just... sorry?" Oliver sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair. "Something tells me that's not going to do it."

Diggle sighed. "How about you try it? And if it doesn't work, _then_ you can give up hope and be miserable and single."

Oliver sent him a half-hearted glare. "Fine. I'll tell her I'm sorry, and if she gives me that _are you serious _look and storms away, then it's your fault."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

"Danvers, at my desk please."

Kara froze halfway out of the door of her English class, and slowly turned to face Snapper. Winn hovered by the doorframe, unsure of whether he should stay and look awkward or abandon his friend.

"Mr. Schott, is your name Danvers and I somehow didn't know?" Snapper asked dryly.

"Uh, uh, no sir." Winn decided upon his second option and ran out the door.

Kara approached Snapper nervously, "Um, am I- am I in trouble?"

"Why?" Snapper frowned at her. "Should you be?"

"I don't- I don't think so." Kara peeped. "I just thought... why else would you call me to your desk?"

Snapper sighed, taking off his glasses so he could rub his eyes. "Sit down, Danvers, and I'll tell you."

Kara took a hurried seat, her hands shaking.

"I don't really like doing this." Snapper grumbled. "I'm not the kind of teacher that gives out lollypops when students do well. But you are admittedly an extra-ordinary kind of good student, and as a teacher it is my job to broach subjects like this. So. Have you ever considered becoming a reporter, Danvers?"

"A, uh, a what?" Kara blinked, shocked at the turn of events.

"A reporter." Snapper repeated impatiently. "Please don't tell me you don't know what a reporter is."

"I- I- I do, I just... I hadn't ever thought that I would become one."

"Well then that's that, I suppose." Snapper placed his glasses back on his nose. "But it is my duty to tell you that you'd make a good one, if you ever wanted to consider the option. And if you need a letter of recommendation... I suppose it wouldn't be _too_ hard to write one, if you asked nicely."

"A- a letter of recommendation?" Kara stuttered, tongue tied. "I- thank you, Mr. Carr, I- I appreciate it."

"There's nothing to appreciate- I haven't even done anything." Snapper said in a bored voice. "Dismissed."

As Kara hurried to get out of her seat and leave the room, his voice made her pause. "You're a good student, Danvers, and a good writer. Keep it up."

Breaking into a grin, Kara left before he could take back the words.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

At lunch that afternoon, the topic of conversation spiraled into careers. "I just can't believe that Snapper gave you a compliment!" Felicity said, shaking her head. "You must feel pretty darn special, gal."

Kara bit her lip, smiling happily. "I do. I mean, coming from Snapper... I must be doing _something_ right, right?"

"Of course you are." Mon-El looked proudly down at her. "And I think that you'd make a fantastic reporter. Your targets wouldn't be able to refuse a pretty girl like you an interview."

Kara blushed and rolled her eyes. "Stop it," she muttered. "It's kind of weird. I mean, I know I've always liked writing, but becoming a reporter has never even crossed my mind."

"It's probably a good idea for all of us to start figuring out what we want to do- or at least what we want to major in." Caitlin put in. Cisco, Julian, Winn and Felicity, all also at the table, nodded. "I'm thinking I want to do a double major in biochemistry and genetics." Caitlin added thoughtfully.

"You go girl." Felicity grinned. "Maybe I'll become a technician. Or an IT girl."

"That's about the path I'm thinking, at this point." Winn agreed.

Cisco looked aghast. "No way! There is way to many brains between the two of you to be _IT_s!"

"Well, what's your plan, Cisco?" Felicity asked, half smiling, half defensive.

Cisco tilted his head to the side. "I want to be an engineer. A big one. That actually invents stuff."

"I can see it." Caitlin nodded.

"What about you, Mon-El?" Kara asked.

"What about me?"

"What are you thinking about going to college for?"

Mon-El frowned, thinking. "Well... I like astronomy. So maybe a major in astronomy and a minor in bartending?"

Everyone at the table blinked. Julian furrowed his brown. "Uh... I don't think that you can go to school for bartending, mate."

"Really? Huh." Mon-El shrugged. "Then something with astronomy, I suppose."

"I'm thinking of going into forensics." Julian said. "I believe Allen is as well." He gave Caitlin a nervous look. "I'm just hoping that we end up at the same school. Because I'm not very good at long distance relationships."

Caitlin smiled and squeezed his hand. "We'll figure it out." Then she paused. "Unless some cruel overlords/writers of my story decide that we are not totally soulmates."

Everyone gave her their own version of a weird look, then shrugged and went back to their food.

(**A.N: Sorry. I couldn't help it. That was for all the Snowbert geeks out there**)

"Has Alex decided what college she's going to?" Felicity asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.

Kara nodded. "Yeah, she's already gotten in to a few schools. She's going to be doing some sort of advanced science-y stuff... you'll have to ask her about it. And Maggie is going to become a cop." Kara shook her head. "Once they're married, Alex is going to hate that. She'll be so scared for her all the time."

"Um..." Mon-El said slowly. "'Once they're married'? Are they even _dating _yet?"

"No." Kara shrugged. "But they will."

She received a few strange looks, but Felicity just shrugged. "True."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

On Saturday, Sara met Thea and Iris in the 4th playing field, and they took a spot in the bleachers to watch the boy's game. Sara was already dressed in her soccer garb, and a few other people wearing the bright AV High colors were scattered around the bleachers and grass.

"You wish Leonard good luck?" Thea asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"I would have." Sara said, not noticing 'the look'. "But I couldn't find him. He's probably warming up and avoiding the rest of the guys."

"Not much of a team player, huh?" Iris asked. She still sounded stuffy from her recent bout with the school bug, but she was back on her feet and glad to be returned to the social life of school. You miss a week... you miss a whole chapter book worth of drama.

Sara shrugged. "He's not much of a team _anything_." She said with a faint smile. "Len's not a people person."

"Which makes the fact that he's totally head over heels for you even more adorable and squeal worthy." The grinned.

Sara rolled her eyes, and Iris changed the subject before they could start arguing. "You guys planning anything special for Thanksgiving Break?"

"Laurel, Dad and I are going to visit mom and her new boyfriend." Sara said, making a face on the word 'boyfriend'. "The food will probably be good, at least. How about you?"

"We're probably just going to chill and watch the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade, like we do every year." Iris shrugged. "I'm going to see if I can get dad to invite this woman, Cecile. She's a defense attorney and he's _so_ into her."

"Iris West, matchmaker." Thea giggled. "I don't know what we'll do. If Oliver and Felicity make up maybe we can invite her and her mom, but otherwise... it'll probably just be a big extravagant meal cooked by Rasia and nothing else."

"Aww..." Iris gave her a sympathetic look. "You can come over to my place if you want."

"I might just take you up on that, if Felicity doesn't come." Thea sighed. "Which she probably won't. Because my brother is mule level when it comes to stubbornness."

"I heard from Laurel that Diggle tried to talk some sense into him, but I don't think that he's taken his advice yet." Sara said, leaning in conspiratorially.

"He's going to have to work pretty hard if he wants her back before Winter Formal." Thea agreed. "But if Oliver is good at anything, it's being able to fight for what he wants."

Both girls nodded in agreement.

The soccer game started at around that time, and each player was called onto the field. Sara made sure to cheer _extra_ loudly when Leonard Snart's name was mentioned. Thea gave her that same suggestive look and eyebrow wiggle, and Sara punched her in the shoulder.

The boys, much to everyone's consternation, lost by 1 point. Once the game was over, Sara rushed off to her before-game meeting and Thea and Iris made their way down the bleachers.

Leonard came jogging up to them, face red and sweaty from the game. Thea waved. "Hey, Leonard. Nice game."

He shrugged. "Not really."

"You fought valiantly." Thea said comfortingly.

He shrugged again. "Sara already head to her game?"

"Yeah." Iris exchanged secret smiles with Thea. "We were just heading that way. Wanna come with?"

"Sure." He followed them across the grass to the girls playing field, where a few of the girls on the team were kicking a ball back and forth to warm up. Sara wasn't among them. "I'm going to go find her; wish her luck."

"You do that." Thea said, smirking. "Come on, Iris. Let's go get seats."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

After the girls triumph of beating their opponents 5-1, Sara was on a winning high. She went out to a post-game celebration dinner with some of the girls from the team, paid for by her father. Then she went home, showered, and curled up on the couch to watch a movie with Laurel.

Her phone buzzed. It was Leonard.

_Never ended up seeing you today. Good job on the game_.

Sara smiled, texting back a quick: _Thanks u too._

He sent her a winking emoji, and she smiled at it. Off all the people she knew that loved emojis, Leonard Snart was surprisingly one of them.

"Who was that?" Laurel asked, trying to get a glimpse of Sara's phone.

"Just Leonard." She quickly shut her phone off. "He wanted to congratulate me on the game."

"He really likes you, huh?" Laurel asked with a smile, neither of their focuses really on the movie anymore.

Sara shrugged, her cheeks a little pink. "I guess so, yeah. That's what Thea seems to think, anyway." She tilted her head to the side. "Speaking of Thea and Leonard... she had wanted to set up this double date with me and Leonard and her and Roy. I wonder what ever became of that?"

She turned her phone back on and sent a quick text to Thea as Laurel smirked, reading over her shoulder. "Double dates don't really seem like either of those boy's types."

"That's what I said." Sara sighed. "But Leonard agreed."

"I'm telling you. That boy would give his life for you." Laurel said, borderline incredulous.

"I think that that's a little far..." Sara was definitely blushing now, and she busied herself with her phone as she waited for Thea's response.

Laurel shrugged, turning her attention back to the movie and attempting to grasp what she had missed.

A little while later, Thea texted back. _Sorry, I was having dinner. Roy put up a fight at the idea of dd. Prbly not going to happen._

_I'm sure L will b relieved. Thx :D_

_Haha._

Sara tucked her phone into her pocket and curled up with her blanket, putting all thoughts of her school and friends and drama out of her mind as she watched the movie with her sister.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

The next day at school, Felicity was at her locker when she found herself cornered by none other then Oliver Queen. She gave him a look. "What do you want?"

He held up his hands in a quick motion of surrender. "Just- Just hear me out, okay?"

Felicity crossed her arms. "Fine. You get 5 minutes."

"Great, great, that's all I need." He took a deep breath, feeling his hands shaking. "Look, I know that we have had some... issues over the past, um, while, and I'd like to say I'm- I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to get mad at you for auditioning for Belle, and it was even _more_ wrong of me to then go audition for the Beast. I was a jerk, and I was stupid, and- and I should have said all this much earlier then I am. If you- If you don't forgive me, I get it. I probably wouldn't forgive me either. But I'm really, really sorry."

Felicity stared down at her feet. When she looked up, she had a small half smile on. "I was preparing to slap you and never speak to you again, but... 2 apologies from Oliver Queen? And was that a tiny little voice crack I heard somewhere in there? I don't think I can say no."

"So...?" Oliver held his breath.

"I forgive you Oliver." Felicity said with a smile. Then she sobered up and gave him a glare. "_This time_."

His face broke into a grin and he moved foreword like he was going to hug her. Then he paused, and awkwardly stuck out his hand. "Uh, thanks, Felicity. I appreciate it."

She rolled her eyes, ignored his hand, and gave him a hug. "No problem Oliver. And I'm- I'm sorry, too. I'll be a bit _less_ sorry when I see you kissing Kara, but..."

"I promise, it won't mean anything." Oliver said seriously. "Just like you kissing another guy wouldn't have meant anything. I was wrong to be a jealous jerk."

"Okay, okay, I've already forgiven you." Felicity groaned. "Now let's just forget about the whole thing, okay?"

"Okay."

And just like that, things were back to normal.

Oliver made a mental note to thank Diggle _very profusely _later.

**Author's Note: That one was a little bit shorter then usual, but I didn't want to get into Thanksgiving break during this chapter and I didn't have any other ideas, so I ended it.**

**I hope you guys are still enjoying!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: Wow, Chapter 16 and it's only Thanksgiving break! That is boding well for the ending chapter length of this story... :)**

**For your information:**

**Iris' dress is from 2x16 (fitting; this is the 16th chapter)**

**Barry's shirt (I know I haven't done much boy's stuff but it's more than just a suit, sooo..) is from 1x19**

**Kara's dress is from 2x08 (duh, it's the Thanksgiving episode)**

**Caitlin's shirt is from 1x22.**

**For Felicity's section, I used an actual site. So thanks to that site. (it'll make sense when you get to that part)**

On Thursday AKA Thanksgiving Day AKA the start of vacation, Iris took the liberty of waking up nice and late. It was nearly 10:00 by the time she pulled herself out of bed and got dressed in her nice Thanksgiving wear. It was a reddish-maroon dress with purple design and black tank top underneath. The tank top was mostly just because the dress was a tad too big and was much too low cut.

She applied a quick coat of makeup (a girl's gotta put something into her appearance on Thanksgiving, even if she _is_ just staying at home), and then walked downstairs and ran into Barry. He, as usual, was up early, his hair combed and wearing a red checkered shirt. "Happy Thanksgiving, Iris!"

"Happy Thanksgiving, Barry." Iris echoed, pecking his cheek. "Dad awake yet?"

"Yup." Barry smiled happily, joining her in moving toward the kitchen. "He put the turkey in and now he's making some pancakes."

"_Yum_." Iris said vehemently. "I'll grab the bacon!"

Several minutes later, the West family was sitting down to pancakes, bacon, and copious amounts of maple syrup and whipped cream.

"Barry, you're drowning your pancakes." Iris giggled.

"They are not _drowning_." Barry said, mock-affronted. "They are merely testing out their swimming abilities. I have a life guard standing by." He gestured to his bacon, safe on the non-syrupy area of his plate.

Joe chuckled, and Iris burst into giggles. Barry grinned, pleased to have made them laugh.

After their breakfast/brunch, Joe turned on the TV and Barry and Iris sat on the couch with their phones and a few other things to do, watching the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade. They had watched it every year for the past decade (which made them sound really old, but was legitimately true), and even though they weren't 7 year olds that woulds scream and dance around the living room when Santa came onscreen anymore, they still enjoyed the acts.

Iris tried to get her English homework done, but she was considerably more invested with the lucky high school marching band and cheerleaders that got to march in the parade.

"Do you think I should join band?" Iris wondered thoughtfully.

Barry looked up from his own homework. "Band?"

"Yeah. You do band." Iris shrugged. "I could totally do it."

"Well, I suppose you could, but... why?" Barry asked, frowning. "What's the sudden interest in a musical instrument?"

"I dunno." Iris shrugged. "Those marching band people on TV seem like they're having fun, and their music is so catchy. And then I could do a band recital and everything, and we could both play instruments and do duets, and-"

"I think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself." Barry laughed. "You know you have to actually _learn_ the instrument before you can play anything remotely interesting, right?"

Iris shrugged again, undeterred. "Thea does band. She plays the flute." She paused. "Granted, she hates it, but still."

Barry frowned. "Do _none_ of your other friends do band?"

Iris pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Let's see... Cisco does percussion, but you already knew that. And Julian plays trumpet- but you knew that, too. And I think that Laurel's friend Maggie is in the senior band with Laurel. I don't know what she plays, though."

"What does Laurel play?"

"Um... Trumpet, I think. Or maybe it's trombone? I always get those two mixed up; I'll have to ask Sara when I see her." Iris responded. "Kara and Winn do chorus, so they _can't_ do band. And Sara doesn't have time for much of anything that has to do with after school, so..."

"I don't see how Sara has time to even breathe with how much stuff she has going on." Barry snorted.

Iris rolled her eyes. "That, Barry, is something we _all_ wonder."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

A little ways away, Thea was also lounging on her couch, texting with Roy.

_What are u doing?_

_Trying to sleep in. U?_

Ah, _there_ was a question mark! Thea nodded in satisfaction. _Chilling._

_Cool_

_U gonna have turkey today?_

There was a long pause. Thea waited for him to respond, flicking through a few snapchat posts and responding to some tweets on Twitter.

Finally: _We didn't get any._

She frowned. _? Why not?_

_Dad hasn't gotten his paycheck yet this week._

Thea's eyes widened and she bit her lip. With everything that she had... everything that she had _always_ had... she often forgot that not everybody had the same things.

Her fingers shook a little as she typed back her response, messing up on a couple of words and forcing her to go back and fix them.

She hesitated just before she pressed send, and called into the kitchen. "Uh, Rasia?"

"Yes, Miss Queen?" The maid/cook called back, sticking her head out of the kitchen doorframe. "Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you'd mind setting 2 more places at the table for Thanksgiving Dinner?"

Rasia gave her a quizzical look, but smiled her quiescence. "I would love to, Miss Queen. It will be nice to have someone tasting my expert cooking more then just you and your brother."

"Thanks, Rasia." Thea said, and pressed send.

_You and your dad want to join us for dinner? We've got plenty of space (and a turkey) and it would be way less boring without you ;)_

This time, the response only took a second.

_Sounds good to me._

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Sara had woken up at 7:00, driven an hour, and now was stuck in traffic listening to horrible music and trying to concentrate on her homework.

_And for what?!_ To go see her mom and her stupid boyfriend and to sit through an excruciatingly awkward Thanksgiving dinner. That's not how vacation was supposed to go. She should be home and eating turkey and mashed potatoes with Laurel and her dad, and then she would give Leonard a call and wish him a Happy Thanksgiving.

She wondered what he was up to right now. When she had tried to figure out his Thanksgiving plans, he had murmured something about "nothing special". She wasn't sure if it was an excuse or if it just... wasn't anything special. Sara knew that Leonard had a little sister, one named Lisa, but beyond that, she had no idea about his family life.

Except that he walked a mile after practice every night (until she had convinced her dad -and Leonard- to drive him home), because his father didn't bother to come pick him up. She had never heard about a mother, or any relatives, or even pets. Just Lisa.

Sara flicked on her phone with the intention of sending him a text. She cursed softly when she saw that she didn't have a shred of connection.

That was just the moldy cherry on top of her freezer burned ice cream.

When they finally arrived at Mrs. Lance's house, 2 hours later, Sara was baking from riding in the car in the sun, sick of driving, had a headache, and was ready to throw herself out of the car while it was still moving.

"We've arrived, girls!" Quintin said in what Sara considered to be much-too-chipper of a voice. "Just in time for lunch, too."

They pulled their bags out of the car, small carryons prepared with a night or two of supplies, and walked up the front steps.

"So, how does this work, again?" Sara said sarcastically, in a positively foul mood. "Are we supposed to knock on our mother's door? Or should we just barge right in?"

Quentin shifted uncomfortably, but Laurel saved him by giving her younger sister a look. "Sara, stop it and knock on the door."

Sara huffed and rapped her fist against the wood a few times.

After a couple of moments, the door opened and Dinah Lance poked her head out. Her eyes lit up when she saw her daughters. "Sara! Laurel! Quintin."

"Hello, Dinah." Quentin said with a small smile, giving her a hug. "It's nice to see you."

She nodded stiffly at her ex-husband and lead her girls inside. "You need to tell me all about school, and how your studies are going- and Laurel! Have you gotten accepted into any college yet? And you have been very vague about your friends, Sara, but I seem to remember a certain boy came up in conversation quite a few times..."

They walked down the hall together, and Dinah showed her daughters upstairs to their rooms.

As Sara was walking down the upstairs hallway, she ran straight into a guy coming out of another room.

He was tall, maybe in his 50s, with thick, greying hair and dark, intense eyes. Sara blinked at him a few times. "Um... sorry. Didn't see you there."

The man smiled, holding out his hand. "No worries; I should have looked where I was going. I'm Derek. You must be... Sara? Laurel?"

"Sara." Sara confirmed, shaking his hand firmly and giving him an appraising look over. "So you're the boyfriend, huh?"

Derek raised his eyebrows in surprise. Thankfully, Laurel was there to save her little sister, as usual. She came striding down the hallway and placed a restraining hand on Sara's shoulder. "_What she means_ is that you must be the man that our mother has told us so much about."

She smiled politely and shook Derek's hand. "I'm Laurel."

"Derek." Derek introduced. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too." Laurel gave Sara a look. "Shouldn't you be... _unpacking_?"

"Right." Sara gave her a smirky little grin. "Yeah." She shouldered her bag and slipped past Derek into her room.

She didn't do much unpacking, just threw her bag onto her bed and texted the Thea and Iris group chat (named School-Girls - which Sara personally thought was a pretty awful name).

_I hope you two are having a better first day of vacation than I am. _

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Kara woke up to the smell of french toast, and it shoved her out of bed immediately. She bounced downstairs in her Thanksgiving dress, which was grey-brown with red and gold flowers, and her hair braided around her head.

"Morning, Mom!" Kara cried, giving her mother a kiss on a cheek and hug from the side. "Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Happy Thanksgiving, Kara." Eliza Danvers said, slipping past her daughter with a pan laden with fresh french toast. Kara's mouth watered at the sight of it and she followed her mom like a hungry puppy around the counter and toward the dinning table.

Alex came down stairs in a nice black shirt and jeans, rubbing her eyes. "Mmmm... something smells good."

"I hope that it tastes good, too." Eliza said with a smile. "Dig in, girls."

Breakfast was inhaled in record time, and that left Kara to clean up the dishes for her mom and flick on the television to see if she could find the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

She texted with Mon-El for a little bit, who was spending the day with his parents at his grandparents place. Apparently all of his 5, 6 and 7 year old cousins were there (there were eight of them in total), but he had escaped into the bathroom for a bit to ask how her day was going.

Alex wandered around, watching a little bit of the parade and working on homework in between reading and surfing through Instagram. Eliza bustled around the kitchen, occasionally asking her daughters to help her with their lunch/dinner/Thanksgiving meal.

When the turkey was done and the table was set, Kara turned off the TV and joined her sister and mother at the dining table. She smiled happily at the sight of all the yummy food, but was stopped from immediately digging in by her mother.

"It being Thanksgiving, before we start eating I think that we should go around and say what we are grateful for this year." Eliza said. "I can start, if you girls want."

Alex and Kara both nodded, so Eliza began. "I am thankful for you two. For everything that you do and that you have become, and for being easy, helpful, loving, amazing daughters."

"Aw, mom." Kara said, smiling happily down at her lap. Alex shook her head fondly and glanced away, too. "I'm thankful for you, too. And also for the fact that we have a home and a family and friends and everything that we do."

"So..." Alex raised her eyebrow. "In other words, you're just thankful for everything."

"Yep!"

"That's a pretty hard thing to go after." She grinned. "But I'll do my best. I'm thankful for the life that I have, and the fact that I have colleges and future at my fingertips. I'm thankful for my friends and all the experiences I'm having in high school, and that I managed to find a life as a teenager that actually means something."

"That was beautiful." Kara said, nodding. "Now can we eat?"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Felicity and Donna Smoak had a small, quiet Thanksgiving meal. Felicity had cooked a turkey and some green beans and Donna had made mashed potatoes and a few different kinds of bread in between calls from work.

They spent the time talking and eating, and Felicity felt the calmness of finally having some time to just sit and be with her mom.

After lunch, Donna pulled out some frozen pies and stuck them in the oven. Soon, the smell of pumpkin and apple was filling the whole house. They dug in with spoons and vanilla ice cream, and eventually found themselves, stuffed, lying on the couch.

"Happy Thanksgiving, honeybun." Donna said with a smile.

"You too, mom." Felicity responded. "I feel as though I'm going to explode."

"Pretty sure that's normal." Donna laughed. "For Thanksgiving, anyway."

Felicity sighed, patting her stomach. "So. What now?"

"I've got no idea." Donna shrugged, forcing herself into a sitting position. "What do normal people do on Thanksgiving?"

Felicity shrugged, too. "No clue. Should I look it up?"

Donna laughed again. "I don't know if you'd get much of a result, but you could certainly try."

Felicity pulled out her phone and searched '_What to do on Thanksgiving'. _After glancing through a few results, all the top ones showing specifics like, What to do on Thanksgiving in LA, or, What to do on Thanksgiving in New York, she changed the search.

"20 fun things to do with your family on Thanksgiving." Felicity read out. "Number 1: Take a walk."

"I'm much too full to go for a walk." Donna said, raising her eyebrows.

"Same. Number 2: Play touch football. Um, nope. Number 3: Boardgames."

"We could handle some boardgames."

"That we could. But we have 17 more to go- let's see what they've got. Number 4 is Play Charades... then we've got a Sing-A-Long- that would probably be dangerous for our ears. Hm... memory sharing-"

"Sounds cheesy, but I don't think that's so bad." Donna spoke up.

"Share thanks- gee, is Thanksgiving Day Cheeseball Day or something?- Silly Dance Contest... Kids Talent Show... I Love My Family Because... Share The Love... Treasure Hunt, Name That Tune, The Questions Game, The Craziest Thing... The list goes on."

"What's the Share The Love one?" Donna asked, trying to read the phone screen over her daughter's shoulder.

"You go around in a circle and say what you admire about the person next to you." Felicity snickered, glancing up at the two of them. "I think that we'd need a bit more people."

Donna shook her head, smiling. "Of course not! Felicity Smoak, I admire you because of your bravery to be what and who you want to be."

Felicity smiled down at her lap, blushing. "Thanks, mom. I admire you because of your ability to keep on pushing, even when things start to go downhill."

Donna reached over and gave Felicity a quick, squeezing, hug. "Love you, honey."

"Love you too, mom."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Caitlin's mother didn't believe in holidays. She went to work, just like always, leaving Caitlin had home with the crushed dreams of a Thanksgiving meal. They would eat some turkey and classic Thanksgiving food together at dinner; nothing special, nothing extravagant, nothing celebratory.

So when Julian called her up, bemoaning nearly the same situation, she was struck with an idea.

"Want to go to lunch?" She asked, pulling down the hem of her black, white and red pattered shirt. "Just the two of us? I could pick you up and we could drive somewhere. That way we'd at least be spending Thanksgiving day with _someone_."

"I, uh, yeah, I- yeah. I think that sounds great." Julian stuttered out. "I can, uh, pick you up, I just need to text my parents to tell them where I'm going."

"Thanks. See you in around 20 minutes, unless they say no?" Caitlin asked, already readying herself to end the call and text her mother. She knew the answer would be yes, or no answer at all. Her mother didn't really care _what _she did, just as long as it didn't include drinking or bad decisions (or punching a guy in the nose, something that she had avoided bringing up in conversation).

"Sounds great. Bye."

Julian showed up at her front door wearing a checkered collard shirt and a grey vest. He held up Caitlin's car door, making her blush and compliment him on his gentlemanliness, and then they drove around town, looking for a place to park.

It wasn't too hard to find a place that was open and empty. There were a few big groups of people at various restaurants they tried that had reserved places for family gatherings, but they got a seat for just the two of them and got their meals.

"I wonder if anyone else in the world has parents who don't even want to spend Thanksgiving with them." Caitlin sighed, picking at her salad and taking one of Julian's french fries instead.

He bit into his fried fish, shrugging. "Probably. I'm sure we're not the only ones."

"I least I have you." Caitlin said sentimentally, giving him a little smile.

"Of course you do." Julian responded promptly, patting her hand where it lay conveniently on the table. "You'll always have me."

After lunch, Julian took Caitlin's hand and they went for a walk down the downtown sidewalks. They got giant chocolate chip cookies from a place called Jitters and then started on their way back to Julian's car.

When they got back to Caitlin's house, Julian walked her to the door, still licking cookie crumbs off of his fingers.

"Thanks for going out with me this afternoon." Caitlin said with a shy smile.

"Or course." Julian nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Neither of them moved.

"I should be going, then."

Still no movement.

Caitlin glanced behind her at her house; dark, large, uninviting, and empty, and then back at Julian's adorable, open face.

"You want to come in for a bit?"

He grinned, and followed her inside.

**Author's Note: And that is that for Thanksgiving!**

**Well. Part 1. The next chapter will be continuing some of these scenes. (the ones that need continuing, anyway)**

**Sooooo what was your favorite part?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Time for Thanksgiving Part 2! Who knows... depending on how resolved these get there****_ might _****just be a part 3... **

**(sorry I forgot to post yesterday. I've got a reminder and everything but they're just so easy to ignore lololol)**

Roy stepped uncomfortably into the Queen's house, his dad behind him. Roy Harper Sr. looked around at the mansion, his eyes wide and his hands loosely fisted in his pockets, radiating the same kind of nervous energy his son was feeling.

"Roy?" Thea called, coming around the corner and walking down the steps. "Hey!"

"Uh, hey, Thea." Roy shuffled his feet. "Uh, this is my dad, Roy Harper Sr."

"Hello, Mr. Harper." Thea said politely, offering a hand for him to shake. "I'm Thea Queen, Roy's girlfriend. It's nice to meet you."

"You too." Mr. Harper said in a deep, gruff voice. He gave Thea's hand a quick shake and then stuffed it back in his pocket. "My son's told me a lot about you."

Thea positively beamed, and Roy turned a bit pink.

Before the silence could become too awkward, Thea broke it. "Well, you guys can come on in. My mom should be home soon, Mr. Harper, but Rasia is just in the kitchen- right over there to the left. I'm sure she can get you set up with some coffee or alcohol or whatever you would prefer." She grabbed Roy's hand. "Come on! I'll show you around."

Roy Sr. watched his son get dragged off with a faint smile, then walked slowly into the kitchen, where Rasia met him in the doorway.

Thea pulled Roy upstairs. "The stuff down there is mostly rooms that Mom uses for all her meetings and stuff. Like, a living room and a kitchen and a bathroom and dining room. Upstairs is the real _home_, if you know what I mean."

Roy understood by the time they got up the stairs. The second floor of the Queen Mansion was completely different then the first, carpeted and comfortable, and lacking the too-open, too-clean, too-polished floor arrangement of the downstairs entry hall.

Thea passed Oliver's room, ("Ollie, Roy's here!" And the response: "Hello, Roy", though Oliver didn't come out of his room) then the upstairs bathroom, then her mothers room, and hers.

"Sorry, not allowed to have guys in my room," she apologized, not opening the door. "Stupid house rule."

"No problem." Roy said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. The top floor of this house was bigger then his entire home put together, and all of it was a bit overwhelming.

"Thanks. This, over here, is the upstairs living room. This is really the best room in the house." Thea pushed open a door at the end of the hall and led Roy into a spacious room with a worn, pale yellow carpet. The walls were light blue and the furniture was mismatched and old-looking.

Roy relaxed immediately.

"My mom doesn't really like bringing guests in here." Thea said with a frown, setting herself on the couch and gesturing for Roy to do the same. "She says that it's not a "proper arrangement" for them. But I like it up here."

"Feels a bit more normal." Roy said with a half smile.

"Yeah." Thea agreed.

"And a little less overwhelmingly clean."

Thea giggled. "You want messy? You should see my room." She paused. "I mean, you _can't_ but-"

"I got it, Thea." Roy smirked. He looked around, his eye catching the piano in the corner. "You play?"

She followed his gaze. "A little. I used to more." She stood up and plunked on a few keys, then hoisted herself on the windowsill. "Hey, thanks again for coming. I would have had a seriously _booooring_ Thanksgiving if you weren't here."

Roy smiled. "Thanks for inviting me." He shrugged. "I would have had a pretty lame Thanksgiving, too."

Thea bounced a little, grinning at him, then came to sit back down next to him. "So, um, here we are."

"Yeah...?" Roy asked uncertainly, unsure of where exactly this train of thought was going.

"And, um, we're alone." Thea continued, turning a little pink. "And you're my boyfriend. And... we're alone."

"You already said that." Roy mumbled, trying not to flinch as she moved a little closer.

"Yeah." Thea said softly. "You know, it's, uh, it's come to my attention that while we have gone on dates, we have yet to... uh... kiss yet."

"Yup."

"And since you're here... and since I'm here... and since we're alone..." She leaned foreword, lips just barely brushing Roy's and-

"Oliver! Thea! Roy! Dinner!" Rasia called from downstairs.

Thea jerked back so hard she fell off the couch.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Dinner meant going downstairs, and Sara didn't particularly want to do that. She had managed just fine "unpacking" in her room for the past hour. There was no need for her to walk down the skinny flight of steps toward the dinning room, where her mom and dad (never a good mix) and her mother's boyfriend would all be sitting.

But Laurel was giving her the evil eye, so Sara sighed, collected herself, and walked sedately down the steps.

She kept her phone in her pocket just in case one of her friends texted or called. Maybe she could make some excuse about going to the bathroom and escape for awhile.

Laurel grabbed her elbow and dragged her to the dinning room. She gave everyone already sitting inside (in other words, everyone but herself and Sara) and bright smile. "Sorry about the delay. Sara was just finishing up getting settled."

"Mmhm." Sara said, pasting on a weird grin. To her pleasure Derek looked a tad uncomfortable.

"No problem at all, girls." Dinah said, gesturing to two chairs across from her and Derek. "Sit down, and we can start."

Laurel and Sara took their seats, and Sara leaned foreword. "Looks yummy." She said, sniffing.

Derek looked pleased. "Thanks. Hopefully it tastes even better."

Dinah rested her hand on her boyfriends arm and sent him an adoring smile. "Turns out that Derek here is quite the cook. Which is a good thing, because we all know that I am _not_."

Laurel laughed politely. Derek beamed back at her. Quintin coughed. "Ah, yes, I remember many nights trying to teach you how to make some simple dinners. Never quite worked out the way we planned, did it?"

There was an awkward silence. Sara raised her eyebrows at her father. _Really? Now? And like that?_

Quintin seemed to realize what he had said and coughed again. "Right then, shall we eat?"

"Yes, yes, of course." Dinah hurriedly reached for one of the dishes. "Let's eat."

The meal lost it's 'Happy Thanksgiving' spark after that- if it had ever had it. Laurel, having lost most of her appetite, picked at her food, while Sara buried herself in her plate and didn't speak for the whole meal. Dinah and Derek held up most of the conversation, talking about work and how nice it was living outside the city. Quintin responded in grunts and nods when it was strictly necessary, but mostly drained glass after glass of red wine.

As soon as dessert was over, Sara sprang out of her chair and cleared half of the plates with something akin to super speed.

"I'm, um, going for a walk." She invented, hurrying for the door and jamming her shoes on. "Gotta burn off all of those Thanksgiving Dinner calories!"

She was out of the house before her mother, sister, or father could response. She sprinted past at least 8 houses before forcing herself to slow down into a quick walk.

"Please let me get service out here." Sara muttered as she pulled out her phone. "Please please please- _Yes!_"

She froze where she was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, not wanting to loose her connection by moving anywhere else, and pressed the 4th contact in her favorite list.

Leonard Snart picked up on the third ring. "LEONARD." Sara cried. "I'm_ dying_."

"That's nice." Leonard responded dryly. "Care to tell me why?"

Sara started walking again, unable to keep still. Hopefully, her connection would hold and the call wouldn't break in the middle of their conversation. "I'm at my mother's house, and I just had to sit through the most _awkward dinner in the world_. Like, worse then having a meal with Oliver and Felicity and bringing up Beauty in the Beast."

"That bad, huh?" Leonard asked, and she thought she heard him laughing.

"This isn't _funny_, Len." Sara groaned. "My mom and my dad are divorced- I told you that already. And my mom has this weird boyfriend named Derek and the way they interacted was _so cringy_\- like Anakin and Padmé cringy. And then my dad said these things about his memories of trying to teach my mom to cook- _right in front of the new boyfriend_. Like, can it get _worse_?"

There was a silence for a moment. Then Leonard asked, "Did you have turkey?"

"What?" Sara wrinkled her nose. "Um. Yeah. We had turkey. What does that have to do with our train wreck dinner?"

"See, I didn't have turkey." Leonard said softly. "Or a dinner at all."

Sara stopped moving. She felt like this was one of the most delicate conversations that she had ever taken part of before, and she was afraid to even breath, lest it made Leonard stop talking.

"My dad sat in the living room with a pack of beers." Leonard continued. "I took his car and my sister and I bought hot dogs from a street vendor. That was it. No turkey. No mashed potatoes. No 'family meal'." He let out a short laugh, and Sara felt her heart lurch.

"I'm so-" She stopped herself from saying she was sorry, knowing he wouldn't appreciate it. "Len... I wish I was there. I'd rather be eating hot dogs from a street vendor with you and Lisa and Laurel then here. I'd rather be with _you_."

"No you don't." Leonard whispered. "Don't take your family for granted, Sara, no matter how dysfunctional they might be. At least you _have_ one."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

After playing a couple of card games and finishing some last-minute vacation homework, Caitlin suggested a movie. Julian readily agreed, and after popcorn had been made and a movie picked, they settling on the couch.

They were about an hour into the movie, and completely done with the popcorn, when the front door opened.

Caitlin sat up from where she was slouched against Julian's chest, his arm around her shoulders. She and Julian exchanged nervous looks.

"Well, I was going to have to meet her eventually." Julian said, struggling to look on the bright side. "What better time to meet my girlfriend's mom on Thanksgiving? When I am... totally unprepared..." He trailed off, looking a little panicked.

"She'll love you." Caitlin assured him, pausing the movie and getting to her feet as Dr. Snow came into the room.

"Caitlin?" Dr. Snow asked in surprise, her eyes landing on Julian and staying there in a very uncomfortable way. "Who is this?"

"Uh, mom, this is Julian." Caitlin introduced nervously. "He's, um, my boyfriend. Julian, this is my mom, Dr. Snow."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Julian said, his voice squeaking a little at the end of his sentence. He held his hand for Dr. Snow to take, and she took it primly.

"Yes, yes. Caitlin, what have I told you about having friends over without asking my permission first?"

"Sorry, mom, I tried to call but you didn't pick up..." Caitlin said, her voice trailing off. "We went out to lunch and I left a note but then we got back early and I figured we could just watch a movie or something. It's Thanksgiving and I didn't want to be alone."

Dr. Snow cleared her throat, her mouth pinching. She stared Julian down. "Do your parents know that you're here?"

"Uh... I left them a message, ma'am." Julian said awkwardly. "And a note, in case they didn't check their phones."

"You're parents were not at home, either?"

"No." Julian stuffed his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "They, uh, don't really do the holidays."

"Hmph." Dr. Snow nodded, but it was hard to tell if this satisfied her or disgusted her. It was really one or the other with Caitlin's mom, just as a whole.

Julian and Caitlin exchanged looks. Caitlin took a deep breath. "So... are we, uh, good?"

Dr. Snow pursed her lips, and glanced at her watch. "I have to go pick up the turkey." Was all she said, before turning around and striding out of the room.

"Well." Caitlin said finally, after a heavy silence had domination the room. "I'd say that went rather well."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Cisco received a selfie of his two best friends halfway into his awkward family dinner with his mother, dad, Abuela, Abuelo, and brother. Dante was recounting boring stories about him and his perfect girlfriend's first date, and his mother and father were hanging on his every word. It wasn't very hard for Cisco to sneak out his phone.

_Stop making me jealous :(_ He texted his bestie with a sad face emoji. _I wanna be there_.

_Sorry, Cisco_. Caitlin texted back. _We wish you could be here, too. _

A couple seconds later, she amended her statement. _Well, I do. Julian wants to have "couple time"_

_LOL_. Cisco texted back, grinning.

"What's so funny, Francisco?"

Cisco moved his head so fast he almost got whiplash, stuffing his phone into his pocket. "Um- um- um- the- the peas!"

Everyone at the table gave him blank looks. Cisco grinned. "Um, the peas rolling around my plate are making me, uh, smile. Because... they're... yeah."

Everyone went back to their meals surprisingly fast, leaving Cisco to wonder if strange comments like this were just so common nobody took much notice. Then that lead to him considering his life goals. Was he really just a weird, long haired hippy like he had been called in middle school?

"Francisco, what do you think?"

Cisco's head shot up once again. "Sorry, mom, what?"

"What do you think?"

"... About what?"

Mr. Ramon frowned. "Have you been paying attention to anything we've been saying?"

"Sorry, I zoned out." Cisco said hurriedly. "Can you repeat what you said?"

Dante smirked. "Yeah... zoned out, huh?"

Cisco glared at him. His Abuela leaned foreword gently, her wrinkled face just as patient with him as always. "We were just saying how, as we are getting older, taking care of our household gets steadily more difficult. Your mother suggested sending you boys down on the weekends to help out."

Cisco's stomach dropped. He loved his grandparents- probably more then his entire immediate family combined- but... "But the weekends are for spending time with friends and catching up on homework!" He protested. "I'd be fine helping out... but going down for the entire weekend just doesn't seem fair."

"Francisco, since when do you hang out with friends?" His mother asked, looking sternly at him. "We only asking you to give up a little bit of your time to help out your grandparents! Your brother is completely on board with it all."

Dante nodded primly, and Cisco sent him an even darker glare. He was starting to feel a panicked twist in his chest. He really didn't want to give up his weekends- the only real time he had for himself. He already didn't have very many friends, and what if he lost Caitlin and Julian because he could never do anything with them anymore? The worst part was, it seemed it was already decided.

"I- I- I have friends." Cisco protested weakly. "And I- homework-"

"You can do your homework at your grandparents." His father said.

"It would be lovely to have you and your brother for the weekends." Cisco's Abuela added with a smile.

Cisco's hands started to shake. "I- I'm sorry- I just don't think-" He swallowed and made eye contact with his mother. "Can I please be excused?"

"Francisco, what-?"

Cisco leapt out of his chair and ran for his room. He threw himself on his bed and buried his face in his pillow. Being gone_ every weekend_ for who knew how long was not how he wanted to spend the rest of his year in high school! Did his parents not understand how hard that was going to be? How he needed a break?

And Dante. Dante had a _girlfriend_, for goodness sakes! Did his brother really think that she was going to stand for him not being available basically ever?

Cisco punched his pillow, hard. His stupid brother's agreement to this horrible idea made Cisco seem like he was some sort of bad person who didn't want to help out his grandparents. He _adored_ his grandparents- more then Dante; he was sure about that- but spending every weekend doing work for them just wasn't fair.

He yanked out his phone and called Caitlin.

"Cisco, what's up?" she asked, picking up on the second ring.

"My parents are making me go to my grandparents every weekend for who knows how long to help them out and I will never be able to do anything with you guys and my only excuse is homework because my parents don't think I have any friends but I _do_ have friends, I've got you guys! and I don't want to lose you but if I can never hang out with you outside of study groups and classes we'll never get to see each other and we'll grow distant and then I'll be all alone because my brother is totally ok with this even though he has a girlfriend, so that doesn't even make sense-"

"_Cisco! Slow down!_" Caitlin yelled into the phone.

Cisco stopped speaking abruptly and sniffled. "Sorry."

"Ok. Take a deep breath. Do you need me to drive over?"

"Aren't you with Julian?"

"He just left." Caitlin reported. "I'm supposed to be helping my mom make dinner but I can tell her it's an emergency."

"No, no, it's fine. I probably wouldn't be able to sneak you in or get out of the house anyway."

"Alright, hang on."

A couple seconds later, Caitlin had hung up and his phone was giving off a repetitive buzz as Caitlin FaceTimed him. He shook his head, smiling a little, and pressed accept.

"Ok." Caitlin said, her blurry picture and buzzy voice strangely comforting. "Start from the beginning."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Mon-El had an overwhelming amount of little cousins. There were 8 of them, aged 2 to 8, and they were all absolutely _obsessed_ with him.

"Do pushups with me on your back, Mon-Mon!" Allegra, one half of the 4 year old twin set, pleaded. "You did it for Ariana and I wanna turn!"

Mon-El looked up, already breathing heavily from doing pushups with Allegra's twin, Ariana on his back. "I don't know, Allegra, I'm kind of tired-"

"Pleeeeease, Mon-Mon!" Allegra whined, trying to climb up on his back. Mon-El let out a sigh and lowered himself to the floor so that she could get safely on top. He sighed as his trembling arms began to work again. At least he was burning calories, because knowing his grandmother, he would be consuming a bit too many of them in a few hours.

The smell of turkey and apple pie was already wafting from the kitchen. Mon-El didn't know why, exactly, they were making the apple pie so early. They hadn't even had dinner yet; dessert wouldn't be until after they had eaten _and_ digested. Or at least partially digested- otherwise dessert wouldn't be consumed until the next day.

After a few more pushups, Mon-El got to his feet with a groan. All of the little cousins around him moaned and whined and asked for their turns.

"Maybe later, guys." Mon-El insisted, backing up slowly. "I'm heading to the bathroom."

"Can I come, too?" Josh, his 5 year old cousin and only other male, asked.

Mon-El gave him a weird look and shook his head, before running off to the bathroom.

Once he had escaped, he called his girlfriend. "Hey, Kara. Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Kara responded happily. "What are you up to today?"

"Wrangling 8 crazy little kids that are somehow family." Mon-El responded with a groan. "Why is that my parents were the only ones in the family smart enough to have a kid when they did? Why can't there be anyone over eight in my family on my mom's side?"

Kara giggled. "Because you're mom is the oldest of her siblings by over 6 years."

"How did you even _remember_ that?" Mon-El asked incredulously. "I told you that, like, 3 months ago!"

"I dunno." Kara said. "I guess I just retained it."

There was a knock at the door. "Mon-Mon, who ya talking to?"

"Nobody, Lilly." Mon-El called back hurriedly. "I'll be right out!"

Over the phone, he heard Kara laughing.

"Shut up." He muttered, making a big show of flushing the toilet and turning on the sink. "Look, I gotta go keep playing with the eight hurricanes in my Grandma's living room. I'll text you later?"

"Sure thing." Kara agreed. "Good luck."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Kara."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Mon-El."

**Author's Note: Happy Thanksgiving everyone.**

**Even though it's, um, not actually Thanksgiving.**

**Well. This is awkward. **


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: I can't wait to see how many pages and words this story ends up being. It's going to be loooooooooooooooong. Like probably the longest story I've ever written. Like, longer then SS1 and SS2- maybe even combined.**

**Also- sorry, I posted the wrong chapter initially, and I'm just replacing it now. **

No one wanted to be back at school on Monday, except possibly Cisco Ramon.

He met Caitlin on the front steps of AV High, and his best friend gave him a huge hug.

He hugged her back tightly, letting out a sigh.

"Were you able to talk any sense into your parents?" Caitlin asked, walking with him as they went into the building.

"No," Cisco sighed, waving at Julian as he joined them from his locker. "I didn't really talk to them about it. I didn't want to say anything that would offend my Abuela or Abuelo, and Dante was so on-board with all of it..."

"It's okay," Caitlin said soothingly. "We'll plan something for you to say at lunch. Reasons why you can't go, or even alternatives. I had a couple ideas last night."

Cisco let out a breath. "Alright."

The bell rang, and Cisco and Caitlin hurried to put their things in their lockers before joining Julian to walk to class.

Cisco and Caitlin didn't get another chance to talk until lunch that afternoon. They plunked their lunch treys down at basically the same moment and slid into seats. "Alright," Caitlin started immediately, leaning in. "I thought of three ideas you could propose to your parents instead of going to your grandparents every single weekend for the rest of your high school life."

"Shoot," Cisco responded, leaning back and waiting for her to begin.

"First off, we have that you could go up _one_ day a week instead of two. The second is that you could go up every other week for the whole weekend. And the third is the same thing, except you and Dante could alternate weekends. You go up one week, he goes up the next. That way your grandparents will have help whenever they need it, you don't have to see your brother that much, and if you every needed to have a weekend free you could switch with him or something."

"I actually kinda like that one," Cisco admitted, taking a bite of his soup. "But how do I even get them to see why I don't want to do the original plan in the first place?"

"You're just going to have to be honest with them," Caitlin said with a shrug. "Tell them that you still need time for enjoyment and friends, and while you love your grandparents and want to help them, you are just finding it really tough to believe that you are going to have to give up all your free time."

Cisco leaned foreword and buried his head in his hands, sighing miserably. "Couldn't you... come with me or something?"

"Cisco..." Caitlin said, patting his back. "This is between you and your family. The only reason I even know about it is because you told me. Don't you think it would be a little weird if I came with you?"

"No..?" Cisco tried, then sighed again. "Yes."

Caitlin nodded in agreement.

Whatever else they were going to say was interrupted as Winn and Felicity came over to the table. "Hey guys," Felicity greeted, setting down her lunch. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Cisco said casually, shrugging. "Just talking."

"We having a nerd-meeting on Wednesday?" Winn asked. The other three stared blankly at him. "_Sorry_, are we having a "study group evening" on Wednesday?"

"Nerd-Meeting," Cisco snickered. "Yeah, sure, works for me."

"My house?" Felicity offered. "My mom probably won't mind."

"I'll have to check with my mom and ask Julian and Barry but it works for me," Caitlin agreed. "The usual time?"

"7:00 sounds good," Winn said. "I need to go over that chemistry quiz that Wells said we're having. He always throws in those really weird problems about Freezing-Point Depression and I never remember how to do the work."

"I can help you out with that," Caitlin told him, taking a gulp of milk. "It's really quite simple."

"Yeah, if you're a chem and bio genius," Felicity grumbled, but she sent Caitlin a grin to assure her there were no hard feelings around her intelligence.

Cisco snorted. "Says the girl who is going to get the highest high honors of like anybody ever in math!"

"That's math! It's different."

"Yeah," Caitlin agreed. "It's harder."

Felicity rolled her eyes.

Julian came over to the table and found his seat next to Caitlin, kissing her on the cheek in greeting. "Hello, everyone," he said, taking a bite of his lunch.

"You good for a nerd-meeting on Wednesday at 7:00?" Cisco asked, grinning.

Julian's confused frown only made the table laugh harder.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

"You know what the best thing about Thanksgiving is?" Kara asked as she and Mon-El sat together in their astronomy class, waiting for Hank Henshaw to arrive and start teaching.

"What?"

"The leftovers." Kara sighed dreamily and leaned back in her chair. "Would you believe that I had stuffing and turkey for lunch? _Yum_."

Mon-El laughed. "All we got to take home was the cranberry sauce," he grumped. "and a couple of pieces of pie."

"Cranberry sauce and pie is good," Kara said optimistically. "Well... not together. But apart, they are."

Hank came into the classroom and stomped to the front. "Attention, class," he said blandly, calling them to order. "Today we are going to be looking at the stars in Orion's belt."

After a long and frankly rather dull lesson, Mon-El and Kara gathered their things and walked out of class. "Sometimes I wonder why I take this class," Mon-El sighed. "I like the projects -don't get me wrong- but Henshaw could do a little better with the in-class lectures."

They walked together down the hallway and towards their lockers to prepare for study hall. After that, school would be over and they would be homeward bound. Kara was relieved- holidays always made her tired, even though the logic in that didn't make much sense.

"What's your favorite part about Thanksgiving?" Kara asked suddenly.

Mon-El blinked, stopping with her as she gathered her books. Normally, he would have thought the action a little bit weird, but they were in the middle of a conversation and he wasn't just going to... keep walking. "That was random."

"Not really," Kara shrugged. "I told you what mine was before class, and I was going to ask you your favorite part but then Mr. Henshaw came in."

"Right then, favorite part of Thanksgiving..." Mon-El paused and wrinkled his nose. "I dunno. I don't really _like_ Thanksgiving all that much. I mean, the food's good and stuff- so I guess the food? Getting to sleep in, maybe?"

"Aw, but on Thanksgiving you get to spend quality time with your family," Kara protested. "I mean, my grandparents came down after Thanksgiving day, and Alex and I went shopping with my grandmother. I think that's really my favorite part, not the leftovers."

Mon-El laughed, slinging an arm casually over her shoulder as they continued down the hall towards his locker. Kara flushed, in parts surprised and pleased.

"I don't really have a family like that, though," he said. "I mean, you're super close with your mom and sister, but when I go to see my family I'm basically just babysitting the whole time. My grandmother is in the hospital with dementia and my grandfather died a super long time ago. And then the other side of my family is all in Alaska."

Kara's face slumped. "I'm so sorry, Mon-El," she said. "That's so awful."

Mon-El shrugged, bumping shoulders with her and dropping his arm once they reached his locker. "I don't mind. It's been like this for forever, you know? Never known any different."

Kara's forehead scrunched. "Still doesn't make it right."

"No," Mon-El grabbed his books and tucked them into his backpack before he and Kara continued down the hall. "But it makes it easier."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

"I'm getting bored with the mundaneness of the drama life of AV high," Iris complained at lunch the next day. "I mean, come on. Felicity and Oliver got back together. Kara and Mon-El are the same as they've always been. Sara and Leonard are basically slow burn to the max-"

"Hey!" Sara protested, shoving her friend lightly in the arm.

"Barry and I never have a falling out, Maggie and Alex are the classic will-they-won't-they-couple, but in between episodes where things happen-"

Both Thea and Sara wrinkled their noses, confused.

"As in they're boring and nothing interesting's going on with them," Iris elaborated. "Laurel doesn't have a boyfriend or even a _crush,_ according to Sara, Caitlin and Julian are basically already married, and any other couple out there we don't have much business knowing about!" She huffed. "I know, I know. But I can't have ins _everywhere _in school."

"You forgot about me and Roy," Thea pouted.

Iris leaned in, interested. "Oh? Did something happen?"

Thea's mouth slid off to the side. "Well. No."

"Exactly!" Iris exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. "Nothing interesting _ever_ happens around here and I'm getting bored with just the same old classes."

"Dude, we literally _just_ started school again," Sara snorted. "Do you really expect there to be some sort of excitement only two days after break ends?"

"_Yes_," Iris huffed.

They fell into silence for a moment, before Iris spoke up again. "What we need is a sleepover."

Sara and Thea both raised their eyebrows, interested.

"And not just any sleepover," Iris continued. "I want to have a sleepover with you girls, and Caitlin and Felicity and Kara."

"Not Maggie and Alex and Laurel, too?" Thea asked, thinking of the other girls in the extended friend group.

"Meh." Iris shrugged. "Seniors aren't into all that drama and excitement- especially not them."

Sara mirrored her shrug. "You'd be surprised. Anyway, continue your 'super sleepover planning'."

"We should all play truth or dare," Thea said, nodding decisively.

"Laaaaame..." Sara groaned, leaning over the table. "How old are we- nine?"

"Truth or Dare is _not_ lame!" Thea exclaimed defensively. "I remember this one time when I played it at a sleepover when I was... um, okay, _ten_, and I was asked who my biggest crush was, and then when I told them who it was, they went _completely berserk and texted him!_"

"Well, that's all fine and traumatic and all," Sara said, rolling her eyes, "but that really wouldn't work for any of us because we all have boyfriends or are in a mutual friend-zone that we are working towards changing."

"Like you?"

"Like me," Sara confirmed. "I'm telling you ladies, someday I'm going to kiss that Leonard Snart."

Iris giggled, nudging her in the shoulder, and glanced at Thea. "Alright, spill. Did you kiss Roy? You said you were going to over vacation when you texted."

Thea slumped down in her seat, giving away the answer before she even spoke. "No..." she mumbled. "I was going to, but then Rasia called us down for lunch! What's a girl supposed to do, kiss him and run? No no _no_, that's not at _all_ romantic enough for my first- hmm, nope: _fifth_ kiss. But my first kiss with Roy, anyway."

"Girl, you've kissed someone five times?!" Iris gaped.

"Like you haven't."

"Not five different people!" Iris protested. "Unless Barry is five different people."

Sara giggled. "Well, you guys all beat me, I haven't even had my first kiss."

Thea sighed, patting her forearm. "Poor, innocent, young Sara-"

"I'm _older_ then you!" Sara huffed. "I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm much too busy for a boyfriend- you two are basically all I can handle."

Iris laughed, and Thea shrugged. "Okay, okay, point taken. Let's get back to that sleepover. Which house?"

"Thea's, obviously. Her house is the biggest," Iris said. "Or mine, 'cause I'm the one who's inviting you." She frowned, scrunching her mouth to the side. "Gonna have to get Barry out of the house though. Don't want him to be traumatized by anything we do."

"Oh yes, six girls, _very_ traumatizing," Sara agreed sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Whatever will Barry _do_?"

"Maybe I can put in a good word and get one of his male friends to have him over," Iris said thoughtfully, ignoring her. "Ah well, we'll figure it out. I'll start a group text tonight after I check with my dad to figure out timing." She grinned suddenly. "I'm excited! We haven't done something like this in _ages_."

Thea tilted her head to the side contemplatively. "Yeah, it may very well be the first time since... 3rd grade?"

"Fourth... fifth?" Sara mused. "Fifth. Sixth?"

"Does it matter?"

"Noooo..."

The bell rang and all three of them jumped. Iris stuffed a large piece of bagel in her mouth and reluctantly put the rest of it into her lunchbox. "We better get going," she said. "Talk later?"

"See ya," Sara said, skipping away through the cafeteria.

Thea walked away with a wave to go and join Roy as they walked down to their lockers and Iris went in her own direction towards her first class after lunch.

Hopefully, Iris thought, by the time the sleepover was over, she would have plenty of good drama to distract herself with during history class.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

"Hey, Caitlin!"

Caitlin turned around and smiled when she saw Kara coming down the hall towards her.

"What's up, Kara?"

"Are you going to be going to that sleepover thingy on Saturday night at Thea's?" Kara asked, joining her friend in walking down the hall. "I wanted to know if you were going first because I don't want to be the only one not in the Iris-Thea-Sara group. That would be kinda awkward."

"Yeah, I was thinking about going," Caitlin said. "I think Felicity is, too, so you won't be alone."

"Great, thanks," Kara nodded. She was silent for a moment, then suddenly blurted: "Um, this is going to be really awkward, but how can you tell when a guy wants to kiss you? I mean, normally I would just ask sister but my she isn't... well, she isn't into guys so she won't really get it and nearly all of my other friends are male."

Caitlin smiled. "Uh... I might not be the best person to ask," she admitted. "When Julian first kissed me it was totally spur of the moment. Like, we weren't even dating. With you and Mon-El... Maybe it's the kind of thing that you could bring up at the sleepover?"

Kara fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "Yeah, I guess..." she mumbled. "I just don't want them to totally overreact. And you and Julian just seem to have such a good relationship..."

Caitlin tiled her head to the side, considering the question again. "Maybe you should just talk to him?" she suggested. "I mean, it might seem like a _super_ awkward conversation at first, but sometimes communication is just the best way to go. Ask Mon-El if he wants to keep moving your relationship foreword, or tell him that you are ready to kiss him whenever he is. You don't want to force him into anything, and I'm sure he doesn't want to force you, just with how he is. You guys are gonna be at a standstill forever if no one says anything."

"Okay," Kara nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thanks, Caitlin. And maybe I _will_ bring it up on Saturday... I guess I'll just see what the other girls have to say. My life-drama doesn't tend to be very interesting."

"I know what you mean," Caitlin agreed. "Drama is only fun if it's someone else's."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

The now officially named "nerd group" meeting convened at precisely 7:00. Barry arrived at 7:03. They were all very impressed.

"I'm convinced you're getting better, mate," Julian said, patting Barry on the back. "I think Iris' trick of setting your watch back ten minutes might actually be working."

Barry beamed and pulled out his math book. "That would be nice," he said. "I can't imagine that my first job is going to be as forgiving of lateness as my teachers."

"It's my personal opinion that if you put enough work into your job and do it well, people will be able to overlook little rules that you break," Cisco spoke up. "Like, per say, chewing on gum during class."

Caitlin's mouth dropped open a little. "They let you chew gum?"

Both Cisco and Felicity nodded, then exchanged glances. "Gee, I thought I was the only one," Cisco sighed.

"Sorry, hippy," Felicity grinned, nudging his shoulder. "Whenever you think that your special, you're most likely not."

"Oof," Winn winced, setting down his books with a thump and massaging his shoulders. "Harsh."

"Dr. Wells told me today that no matter how good you are at something, someone is always going to be better," Caitlin sighed, leaning back against the chair she was sitting in front of. "I'm really trying to figure out if he's telling me that I need to work harder, or if he was just... you know, being Dr. Wells."

"No one's better then you at chemistry, Caitlin," Julian said, slinging his arm around her shoulders. "Except maybe me."

Cisco snorted, Felicity shook her head, and Barry looked a little uncomfortable. Caitlin glared at her boyfriend, and shoved him lightly in the side. "It's moments like these when I understand why people think you're pompous," she huffed.

"Guilty," Julian shrugged. "It's just part of my charm."

Winn coughed. "Um, anyway," he said, looking like he was debating whether to laugh or cringe so hard he fell over. "About that chemistry test tomorrow..."

They settled down to work in their normal positions: Caitlin sitting pretzel leg with her textbook in her lap, back against a chair; Winn stretched out on his stomach with his head propped up on his hand; Julian slouched over his book, chin resting his palm; Felicity sitting with her weight propped up on one hand, notes on the floor in front of her; Cisco rolling around on the floor like a fish, book held above his head; and Barry sitting with his legs out in front of him, crossed at the ankles.

Halfway through the study session, Donna Smoak brought out plates of store bought cookies and crackers. They all dug in eagerly, and Caitlin gave Felicity an envious look. "You're mom is so awesome," she said with a sigh. "My mom probably wouldn't even let me have you guys over. She nearly bit my head off when Julian came over for Thanksgiving."

Barry gave her a sympathetic look and Winn patted her shoulder. "I feel you, girl," he said. "Life is tough when you've only got one parent, especially when they don't pay attention to you."

Felicity propped her head up on her hand, taking another bite of cookie and watching her mom bustle around the kitchen through the open doorway. "Yeah, she's pretty cool," she agreed. "I guess I just don't really think about it. This is how she's always been."

"Normality is what is taken most for granted," Julian said sagely. Barry nodded, impressed, and he grinned. "You guys can totally quote me on that."

Caitlin giggled, bumping his knee with her own. "When did you get so wise, Julian?" she teased.

He grinned at her. "Maybe after I decided to turn my life around and stop being pompous. Because Caitlin Snow, you are _easily_ the smartest person in that chemistry class."

**Author's Note: Well, hello there filler chapter. *insert eye-rolling emoji* Sorry if that was awful- I had to set a the sleepover up and I didn't want to start anything too exciting. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: Sleepover time! I think we're gonna do a part 1 part 2 with the sleepover, just by the way. **

Basketball season had started, and Sara had mixed emotions about it.

See, Leonard didn't do basketball. He did ice hockey (which Sara thought was kinda hot but would never say). But Iris, Thea, Laurel and Alex were all on Sara's team, which was a lot of fun.

The five of them worked very well together, especially the three Juniors. They had been told off a few times from their coach about not sharing the ball enough with the rest of the team, a reprimand which Sara thought was _totally_ hypocritical, considering that said coach only used about half of their team during games.

Sara probably should have been a bit more sympathetic to the girls who never went in, but she could help loving playing almost the entire game. She could never stand to just sit on the sidelines and watch, especially because she was always able to see moves that people could play on the court, ones that she wasn't able to execute on the sidelines.

"I don't understand why he bothers to create a whole team if he only uses, like, eight people," Sara said as she passed the ball back and forth with Thea.

"Girl, do you know how self-absorbed you just sounded?" Thea said with her eyebrows raised. "What if more then eight people want to play basketball at this school?"

"Yeah, but they don't even get to!" Sara argued, catching the ball and spinning it on her finger before chucking it back. "Like, I would totally get it if everyone played, but why bother to train a whole team if you're not even going to use the players?"

Thea's mouth pinched, but she didn't seem to have a very good answer. "I don't know... backups, I guess?"

"Now who sounds self absorbed?" Sara muttered. She caught the ball again and moved to the left as their coach yelled at them to switch partners. "Hey Iris, you know when our first game is?"

Iris shrugged, tossing another girl her ball since her partner already had one. "What? You thinking of inviting _Leonard_?"

Sara rolled her eyes, hating herself for blushing. "_No_, I was thinking about training. Duh. Not everything is about him."

"Says the girl who almost joined ice hockey just so that she could walk home with him."

"Not true!" Sara cried. The ball hit her in the face and she glared at Iris, rubbing her nose.

"Sorry," Iris said with a shrug.

"Pay attention, Miss Lance!" the coach yelled over, and Sara grit her teeth, throwing the ball back to Iris with a bit more force then was necessary.

"I did _not_ almost join ice hockey," Sara continued, keeping her gaze on the ball to make sure she didn't get hit again. "I tried to convince him to join the basketball team, but only because it's two people to a seat when we travel and I wanted to make sure you or Thea didn't feel left out if all three of us couldn't sit together."

"Riiiiight..." Iris said, squinting at her and trying to figure out if she was serious. "Because that just makes _loads_ of sense."

Sara shrugged, dribbling a couple of times before getting a glare from her coach and sending the ball back to Iris. "Geez, he's on edge today," she muttered.

"We're doing a passing drill, Sara," Iris said reasonably. "If anyone's on edge, it's you."

Sara shrugged and ignored her. "We still on for that sleepover?"

Iris immediately lit up happily. "Yes! Caitlin, Kara and Felicity can all come. And Thea, of course, I mean it's at her house so obviously. You want to bring snacks?"

"On it," Sara agreed.

"Switch!" their coach bellowed, whistle bumping on his jersey as he jumped up and down to get the girls moving. "Come on, girls, someone you haven't paired with yet!"

Sara hurried over to Laurel, leaving Iris with the ball, and practice continued.

Halfway across the school, two other girls were discussing Iris' (but also Thea's because it _was _her house) sleepover as well. Kara and Caitlin, both in extracurricular art, had their head's bent close together so as not to let other girls overhear and feel left out.

"Do you think it will be fun?" Kara asked nervously, mixing together two new colors to add to her painting. "Or will it be weird? I mean, Thea already has a boyfriend... what if she's, like, _done stuff_ with him, and wants to talk about it?"

Caitlin winced. "I don't know, Kara. I don't think she's that kind of girl. Just like Felicity isn't- I mean, she's got a boyfriend, too. And so do you and I! We haven't done anything inappropriate."

"Yeah..." Kara trailed off, not wanting to back-talk anyone. "I guess you're right."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Caitlin assured her. "And if not with those girls, you'll have me and Felicity! If worst comes to worst you can just invent an emergency and head home."

Kara bit her lip and carefully dashed another blotch of paint onto her painting. "I, uh... I haven't gone to a sleepover since 5th grade."

"Wow," Caitlin murmured, setting down her paintbrush. "Is that why you're so nervous?"

"I'm not- I'm not-" Kara stuttered. "I'm... okay, yeah, I'm nervous. I don't know what girls really _do_ on sleepovers, honestly. Alex and I have them sometimes, but we're sisters. It's different."

"I wouldn't really know..." Caitlin said awkwardly. "I mean, my best friends are all guys, and my mom doesn't allow me to let them into my room, much less have them over to sleep. So I've never really had a sleepover, either. I mean... a couple of times with Iris when we were younger, but..." She shrugged. "I'm sure that they'll know what to do. I don't think you have to worry."

"I'm gonna worry anyway," Kara said with a faint grin. "It's kind of in my job description."

Caitlin shook her head, laughing. But deep down, she was a little bit nervous, too. She wasn't very good with social situations, and she wasn't very good with girls, and, like Kara, she had no idea what to expect.

She wasn't very good with surprises, either.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Cisco sat stiffly in his chair, his hands planted in his lap. Both of his parents were seated across from him, and his brother was miraculously out of the house. Cisco was relieved- it was one less thing he needed to worry about.

"Alright, Francisco," Mrs. Ramon said stiffly. "What was it that you needed to talk to us about?"

"Mom, dad," Cisco responded, taking a deep breath. He had prepared this speech last night and gone over it nearly 17 times since then. If he ever needed a monologue for an audition, he would be set; he had this thing memorized down to the last comma. "I wanted to talk to you guys about the plan you made with Abuela and Abuelo over Thanksgiving Break."

Mr. Ramon sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Not this again. It's already been decided, kiddo. You-"

"Just hear me out, okay?" Cisco interrupted. "I have a couple of reasons why this plan is difficult for me to go through with, and also a couple of alternatives."

Cisco's parents exchanged glances and shrugged. "We're listening," Mrs. Ramon said, and waited.

"I am a Junior in high school," Cisco started. "Making friends and finding time to socialize is hard enough with homework and activities and preparing for my future. My free time is usually reserved for the weekends, when I can hang out with friends, catch up on work, and relax. If you guys are expecting me to go to my grandparents every single weekend to work... I'm not going to have that time anymore. I'm going to lose the relationships I've worked so hard to build over the years, and honestly, I'm going to get really burnt out and exhausted. My grades are going to drop, I'm not going to want to do anything anymore, and besides that, we will never be able to do anything on the weekends."

Mrs. Ramon tilted her head. "I... see you're point, Francisco, but your grandparents need the help. What do you suggest as an alternative?"

"Dante and I can alternate weeks to help," Cisco said, surprised at how well this was going. "I go up one weekend, he goes up the next. Or, the two of us can go up together every other weekend, or every few weekends. We can still help our grandparents, _and_ we can have time at home."

Mr. Ramon nodded. "That seems reasonable. How about I talk to your grandparents about this and see what they say?"

Cisco's mouth fell open. "Seriously?!" he gaped, relieved beyond belief. "You're not kidding? You're actually considering this?"

Mrs. Ramon shook her head fondly and got to her feet. She leaned over and hugged her son for a moment. "Yes, we are considering it. I think that this was a very mature way that you handled the situation, and it was very nice for two parents to see."

"Thanks," Cisco mumbled, blushing. "I mean, Caitlin helped with some of the ideas-"

"We kind of figured that," Mr. Ramon said with a laugh. "Tell her we say thank you."

Cisco beamed, hopping up from his chair. "I'm gonna go call her. Thanks, mom, dad!"

He sprinted up the stairs, only tripping three times on the ledge of the steps, and yanked out his phone.

"Caitlin!" Cisco cried as soon as she picked up. "They agreed! They're going to call my grandparents!"

"Oh!" he could almost hear her eyebrows shooting up her forehead. "Well! That's great, Cisco."

"My dad said to thank you," Cisco added as an afterthought. "They even told me I was acting really mature and stuff!"

"I'm glad that worked out, Cisco," Caitlin said. "Look, I'd love to talk, but I'm actually on my way to Thea's house for that sleepover thing that I was telling you about, and my mom just pulled up in the driveway, so I kinda got to go."

"Oh, right, right," Cisco nodded. "Well... may the Force be with you."

Caitlin laughed. "You too, Cisco. Talk at school on Monday?"

"Yep!"

Cisco ended the call and leaned back on his bed, grinning. Maybe some things did work out, after all.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

Sara bounced on Thea's bed, her ankles crossed. "Did the girls say when they're coming?" she asked, already bored.

Thea tucked her head back from behind the curtain. "Someone just pulled in. I'm gonna head downstairs and play host, okay?"

"Got it," Sara agreed. Her sleeping bag was already set up on Thea's floor. It was black and had stars around the hem, and Sara thought it was pretty darn cool. Whenever she had campouts, though, people had the tendency to trip on her when they were getting up because they couldn't see her, which was slightly less cool.

Thea hurried down the staircase in her slippered feet, robe billowing out dramatically behind her. She opened up the door just as someone knocked.

"Hey, Felicity!" Thea greeted with a grin. "Come on in."

"Uh, thanks." The blond nervously pushed up her glasses and tugged her rolling luggage up the front steps and into the Queen's house. "You... have a really big house. I mean- uh- a nice house! You have a nice house. A beautiful house. I mean it's also really big but- um-"

"Thanks, Felicity," Thea said, trying not to laugh. "Why don't you bring your luggage upstairs? Sara's already here."

Felicity's hands started to sweat at the thought of being alone in a room with Sara and Thea. She was _terrible_ in nearly every kind of social situation, and when she got excluded she had the worst tendency to try and interject herself into the conversation. The interjecting tactics could be anything from coughing really loudly and fakely to blurting out random facts that had nothing to do with the situation, or even trying to say something that would get her included, like pretending to know what everyone was talking about.

Surprisingly, Thea and Sara were not at all exclusive. Sara grinned at her as she walked into the room. "Hey, 'Licity. Need help setting up your sleeping bag?"

"Uh, I think I'm okay, but... thanks," Felicity said, taken aback at the offer. She pulled her maroon sleeping bag out of her roll-on bag (Thea immediately praised the color), and set up her pillows and extra blanket. Thea perched on her bed and Sara stayed sprawled across the end, and they got into a conversation about English class.

English wasn't Felicity's strong suit, but she at least knew the teacher and could complain about Snapper's weird and harsh tendencies with the other girls. She was a little relieved that Kara wasn't there, because she figured it would be awkward for the English-nerd to have to participate in a dissing-session of a teacher she actually kind of liked.

Caitlin was the next to arrive. She walked through the door with a carefully constructed, polite smile on her face, her hair and clothes looking as put together as always. Felicity was half way in between jealousy and awe for how confident and prepared her friend looked. Why couldn't _she_ ever be that way, greeting Thea with a smile and a "thanks for having me over" instead of babbling about the size of her house?

Caitlin laid out her navy blue sleeping back and matching pillows next to Felicity. "I hope we have enough floor space," she commented, lightly, before smiling at Thea. "Not that your room isn't adequately _enormous_."

Thea shrugged. "Hey, what can I say. I need my space."

Felicity resisted the urge to say something like, "you've certainly got ample amounts of that", not wanting Thea to take it the wrong way or get offended.

Before any more comments of room size or anything else could be made, there was the sound of knocking. Thea barely had time to make it off the bed before Iris West was darting up the stairs.

"Helloooooo ladies!" Iris called as she spun into the.

"Hey, Iris," Sara said with a grin. "Welcome to your own sleepover."

"Hey, girl, you'll be glad that we decided to have it at Thea's house when we're not all lying on top of each other due to minimal floor space," Iris shot back, grinning. "But, yes, everyone, this lovely idea was my own."

Caitlin laughed. "Well, good idea, Iris. I think this'll be fun."

"There will be _adventure_," Sara said in a deep announcer's voice. "There will be _excitement_. There will be _boy-talk_. There will most likely be some _social-media-stalking_. There may be some _midnight walks on the lawn_. There will be-"

"_Sara_," Thea groaned, shoving her off the bed. "Please shut up."

Overcome with giggles, Sara lay on the floor and stared up at the ceiling for awhile.

Kara was the last to arrive, totting a High School Musical themed duffle bag and already wearing her pajama pants. "Hi guys!" she said, waving awkwardly as she stepped into Thea's room. "What's up?"

"Everyone," Sara snickered, still lying on the floor.

Kara smiled, a bit unsure of how to respond, and busied herself with lying her sleeping bag and pillow out on the floor.

"Heeeey, Sara," Thea said, lying on her bed on her stomach and dangling over the side. "You have any of those snacks?"

Sara grinned. "I have enough snacks to feed an army of hungry assassins," she replied. The girls blinked blankly at her. "In other words, _yes_, I have snacks."

Soon, bags of cheese puffs and popcorn were being passed around. Iris somehow ended up with the latter in her hair, which turned into a frantic exchange of tossed snack food between her and Sara.

"Hey, I'm all for a food fight," Thea said, hands raised in allowance. "Just as long as _you _are the ones vacuuming tomorrow morning."

That ceased the exchange of fire, and the six girls settled into silence.

"Soooo..." Sara said after a long, semi-awkward pause. "I know Iris is just _dying_ hear all of the gossip from every single one of us..."

"Like you aren't," Iris shot back, sticking her tongue out.

"Alright then, let's get down to business," Thea said with a nod. She wiggled her eyebrows at Felicity. "Inquiring minds would like to know... what's it like dating my brother?"

"Um..." Felicity's cheeks went pink and she fiddled with the hem of her sleeping bag. "Well, it's, uh, like dating any other guy, I guess."

"Yeah, _right_."

"Okay, so he's a little bit... overprotective sometimes, I guess," Felicity admitted. "Some days he's super sweet and will, like, come over to my locker and kiss me on the cheek to say good morning and stuff. And then other days he kinda just acts like I'm not there. And then somedays I text him and it takes him like three hours to respond. So it's... weird and a little confusing but also pretty nice most of the time."

Thea rolled her eyes. "Oliver's such a weirdo," she grumbled.

"Yeah, 'cause you're not," Sara sassed. "At _all_."

Thea threw a pillow in her face and Felicity let out her breath, relieved that the attention was off her at least for the time being.

Sara retaliated with her own pillow, but missed and hit Kara in the face. Her glasses tumbled off her nose, and she looked shocked for a moment before grabbing her pillow and chucking it at Sara.

What proceeded to transpire was a full-fledged pillow fight that left all six girls giggling and breathless, and somehow all with the wrong pillow.

Once they had sorted themselves out a bit and settled down, Thea got the conversation back on track.

"Okay, so we've covered Felicity and her hot'n'cold relationship with my dear brother," she said.

Felicity turned pink again. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it hot'n'cold-"

Thea patted the air, shushing her. "Whatever you wanna call it, honey. Now, Caitlin-"

"Me?" Caitlin squeaked, looking shocked. "What do you want to know about me?"

"Relax, girl," Iris said with a laugh. "We're not looking for your deepest darkest secrets. But... what is Julian like when he's not pretending to be the smartest person in science class?"

Caitlin frowned, unsure of what to make of the comment. " 'Pretending'? He _is_ the smartest person in class."

"No, he's not," Sara grinned. "You are."

"Oh," Caitlin said softly, fiddling with the hands. "Well, uh, thanks."

There was another one of those long, semi-awkward silences before Iris coughed. "So... Julian?"

"Oh! Right." Caitlin frowned a little. "Well... he's... Julian."

"Thanks," Sara deadpanned. "Very helpful."

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Well sorry, I don't really know what to say! He's a very sweet person. I mean, it might _seem_ like he's only interested in himself, but he texts me a lot on his own accord, he remembers my birthday and sometimes he just gets me flowers for no reason." Her eyes went a sappy kind of soft, and little smile on her face.

"Oh my gosh too _cute_," Thea gushed, falling over on her back dramatically. "You guys are seriously the golden standard couple. Well, I mean, Iris and Barry are the golden standard couple. But you two come pretty close."

"I wouldn't go _that_ far," Caitlin deflected. "But... thanks? I think?"

"Alright Sara," Kara said, her bravery at actually contributing to the conversation shocking no one except her. "How about you and Leonard? You guys are pretty close, huh?"

"Yeah..." Sara sighed dreamily. "Yeah, Len's great."

"_Len_?" Iris asked, smirking. "So he's 'Len' now?"

Sara glared mildly at her. "Would you rather me call him Lenny?"

"Oh man _no_," Iris said, pretending to gag. "The name Leonard is bad enough."

"Leonard is a perfectly fine name," Caitlin scolded lightly. "It's no better or worse then Bartholomew or Roy or Julian."

Iris had the decency to look a little ashamed, and Sara smiled at Caitlin. "Thanks," she mouthed, and Caitlin nodded back.

"Anyway," Sara continued. "Leonard is kind of hard to get through to, but when you do, he's like... okay so this is super weird but he's like a frozen marshmallow."

Iris frowned. "Before or after you get through to him?"

Sara rolled her eyes. "_Before_, obviously. What, you think you get through his cold exterior and there's just another cold exterior? That doesn't even make sense."

"Calling someone a frozen marshmallow is truly what doesn't make sense," Caitlin smirked, shaking her head. "But I think we all get what you mean."

"_Anyway_," Sara groaned. "Leonard is a really sweet dude that has a cold exterior."

Thea scoffed. "Leonard Snart? Sweet? Examples, please."

"Like..." Sara frowned and scrunched up her face, contemplating the question. "Like, he walks really quickly, but if you don't he won't speed walk ahead of you. He'll actually slow down and walk with you."

The girls gave her blank looks and raised eyebrows and Sara sighed. "Okay, what else? Umm... he always lets me take the selfies, and won't make me take another one if I think I look good in it, even if he doesn't like how _he_ looks." She sent Thea and Iris a mock glare. "That's a trait a couple certain someones could do well to adopt every once and awhile."

Thea shook her head, not taking the bait. "Yeah, whatever. But c'mon, Sara, that's all you've got? Selfies and not walking too fast?"

Sara stuck her tongue out at her, but Kara could tell that the comment made her a little uncomfortable. "I don't know," she spoke up. "Things don't necessarily need to be all grand gestures and chick-flick romances to be sweet and make you feel good."

Sara sent her a grateful smile, and Caitlin nodded. "I second that," she said. "Sara and Leonard aren't in an official dating relationship, and some guys don't want to push the boundaries by being too forward or romantic. Sometimes it's the little things, right?"

"Yeah," Sara agreed, nodding vigorously. "I'm not the kind of person to get giddy over a bunch of roses, but offer to cary my soccer gear for me at the end of a long day and you're immediately my favorite person."

Felicity laughed, and the tension was broken. Thea shrugged, "Hey, I didn't mean it in a bad way. It's not like Roy's ever even told me I'm pretty."

"Sometimes the best way to get a compliment from a guy is to not search for one," Iris put in. "And also, what we think is cute or pretty isn't necessarily what guys do. Barry has the tendency to stare at me the most when I'm in sweatpants with my hair in a bun."

"Yes, but Iris, we all know you're gorgeous even in sweatpants and a bun," Caitlin laughed. "It's not wonder Barry's so head-over-heels."

Iris blushed. "Thanks, Cait," she mumbled.

"I'd like to think that guys look at more then looks," Felicity sighed. "Otherwise, if Oliver breaks up with me, I'm doomed."

"Felicity!" Thea protested. "Don't say that. You are _beautiful_." She leaned over and threw her arms around the math-wiz dramatically, smushed her as both of them fell over.

Sara snorted with laughter. "Okay, we the women of little self-confidence an unrealistic self-image. When's dinner?"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

**'**_Wanna hang out tomorrow afternoon? (on Sunday)'_

Alex Danvers had been staring at her phone for the past five minutes, looking at one short, insignificant text from Maggie Sawyer.

She seemed calm on the outside, sitting pretzel legged on her bed with her AP Physics homework spread out on the bed spread in front of her. Her phone was resting in her lap, and she was simply staring at it, unblinking.

She wished Kara was there. Kara would be able to sort out this text in a second with something like, "Oh, Alex, she just wants to hang out." or, "Alex, this is great! She wants to hang out _without_ Laurel. That totally means she likes you."

Alex groaned and rubbed her forehead. How was she supposed to respond? With a "Yeah, sure, when?" or a "With Laurel?" or a "Is this a date?!"

No no no _noooo_ not that last one. Definitely not that last one.

Defeated, Alex pulled out her phone and called Laurel. "Hey," she greeted as soon as her friend picked up.

"If this is another impossible calculous problem then _no_, I'm not helping," Laurel said immediately.

"Not... not exactly." Alex chewed unconsciously on her thumbnail. "Look, so, Maggie texted me to hang out on Sunday."

"Huh, I didn't get it."

"No," Alex said awkwardly. "She, uh... she just asked me.

"Oh!" Laurel replied. Then, "_Oh_."

Alex gnawed a little harder and then winced, having pulled the hangnail too low. "Yeah. So... I don't really know what to think. Is it... a date? Is it a just-friends thing? Like, if it was, why wouldn't she invite you? You guys didn't, like, get in a fight or something before this, right?"

"No..." Laurel said thoughtfully. "We didn't. Goodness gracious Alex do you think she's asking you out?"

"_Ugh_," Alex groaned, falling back onto her mattress and covering her eyes with her hands. "I don't _know_, Laurel, that's why I called."

"I don't know, either!" Laurel protested. "I haven't gone on a date since Sophomore year."

"But what do I say?" Alex asked desperately. "She's gonna think I'm ignoring her."

"Just say yes," Laurel said, and Alex could almost hear her shrug through the phone. "It can't hurt, right? You guys'll go and hang out just like we do the three of us, but they'll only be two of us. And then if you later find out its a date, then, well... that's not so bad, is it?"

"Well, _no_, of course not!" Alex said immediately. "It's just... yeah, it kind of is. I mean, I'd like to know I was going on a date if I'm going on a date, Laurel."

"Alex, I'm sorry, I really don't know what you should do," Laurel sighed, defeated. "Just text her back and say 'sure, what do you want to do' or something casual like that. Then maybe you can ask her in person when you two hang out, if the time comes up."

"I guess..." Alex mumbled. She put Laurel on speaker phone and got into messages, fingers trembling a little over the keys. "So, um, I'm saying: 'Yeah, when and where?' Is that weird? Does that sound like me?"

"Sounds perfect," Laurel assured her. "Now you're good? No further relationship questions for me to not help with?"

Alex groaned again, but she was laughing this time. "No, no, we're all good. Good night, Laurel."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-**

"Next on our program," Sara said in her now-trademark announcers voice. "We have 'how to kiss guys' by Mrs. Iris West-Allen to be."

"Saraaaa..." Iris groaned, turning dark red and flopping down on her sleeping bag. "I might not even hyphenate."

"Wait, you and Barry are getting married?!" Kara gasped, gaping at her.

There was a long silence. "Um..." Sara said awkwardly. "It was a joke...?"

"Oh!" Kara realized, letting out a nervous laugh. "Oh, right, _duh_. Of course it was a joke. I was just... yeah."

"Aaaaanyway," Caitlin said quickly, trying to save Kara from any more embarrassment. "I'm doing just fine in the kissing department, thank you, and I don't need any lessons."

"Is that so?" Thea asked, immediately interested. "Please, tell us. How many kisses have you and Mr. Albert had?"

Caitlin's cheeks turned bright red. "We- what? I- um- I don't know! I don't- I don't _count_. Goodness gracious Thea, that's so weird."

Thea laughed, and Sara tilted her head. "Alright, Caitlin, then tell us about you and Julian's first kiss."

"I'm sure you've already heard the story," Caitlin responded. "But okay. Our _first_ first kiss, like the very first and not our first _real_ kiss, was after auditions for Beauty and the Beast. I was a bit... disappointed with how my audition had gone, and so I ran out of the auditorium. He followed me, and after I basically completely dissed myself, he just kinda leaned down and kissed me. See, I was shocked, and I didn't kiss him back, so he took that the wrong way and thought I didn't like him. Then I wasn't sure _what_ to do, so I went to Iris-"

"And we and Barry helped you figure all of your life troubles out," Iris finished in satisfaction. "I'm almost positive we should be couples counselors."

"Wait, so you kissed _before_ the thing with Hunter?" Felicity asked, confused. "Winn told me that Cisco had told him that you and told _him_ that Julian kissed you after you had that thing with Hunter."

"Well, yeah, that was our first _real_ kiss," Caitlin clarified. "See -and this is the story you've probably heard more- Hunter was taunting me about my terrible audition, and eventually it lead to him punching me in the face. Julian saw it happened and came running, and Hunter was about to punch him, so I.. well, I beat him to the punch." She grinned. "No pun intended."

"That pun was _so_ intended," Iris snickered.

"Maybe a little," Caitlin admitted. "But anyway, I punched Hunter and then Julian realized that I actually cared about him and he kissed me. So, yeah. That's the story of our first two kisses."

She folded her hands neatly in her lap, story completed.

"Okay, Iris," Felicity spoke up. "I wanna hear about _your_ first kiss with Barry."

"Oof." Iris pulled a face. "Man... that must have been... eight grade? We've been dating for, what? Four years now? Three and a half? Yeah, eight grade. So... if I remember correctly, it was the anniversary of his parents death. Yeah, yeah, I remember now. We were sitting on the porch of my house, because he had gone out there after dinner to get some air. So I made him some hot cocoa- keep in mind we'd only started dating about three days ago."

"You made him hot cocoa?!" Sara gushed, eyes huge. "Oh my gosh that's _socute_."

Iris shrugged nonchalantly, through she looked pleased. "Eh, it wasn't that big of a deal. Barry likes hot cocoa when he's missing his parents. It was something his mom used to make him a lot." She sighed. "So, anyway, I made us some cocoa and brought it out to him with a blanket. And then I wrapped the blanket around both of our shoulders and hugged him, because ohmygosh when Barry Allen is sad he just looks like the most adorable and pitiful puppy ever and it's nearly impossible _not_ to hug him."

"True that," Caitlin agreed.

"And, you know, we talked for awhile. About his parents and stuff, and then I told him that I was really happy that we were together and that I hoped we could stay together forever." Iris was blushing by this point but she looked happy, remembering her first kiss ever (and her first kiss with the guy she loved). "And then we kissed. It wasn't particularly exciting, but I have to say I enjoyed it very much."

"Oh my _gosh_..." Thea groaned. "That is literally the cutest thing ever. I ship Westallen _sooo muuch..._"

"Westallen?" Kara spoke up, frowning. "Is that, like, their ship name?"

"Yup," Iris grinned. "When we started dating we were Irarry, but then Thea came up with Westallen, which we thought was a lot better."

"I like to spend my free time coming up with ship names," Thea said in an offhanded way. "Like, for instance, my ship name with Roy is Theroy. And Caitlin and Julian's is Snowbert."

"Snowbert?" Caitlin wrinkled her nose. "Really?"

Thea nodded. "Mhm. I thought of one for you and Barry too, back in seventh grade when I thought you were going to end up together."

Caitlin actually choked. "Me and _Barry_?!" she spluttered. "Oh my goodness _no_. What was it?"

"Snowbarry."

"Aw, that's actually kinda cute," Kara grinned. Iris sent her a look and she hurriedly backtracked. "I mean the _name_ is cute, not the couple. Obviously Caitlin and Barry are in two very happy relationships right now and would _not_ be getting together at any point in the near future."

"Felicity and Oliver's ship name is Olicity," Thea continued, ignoring Kara. "And Kara and Mon-El's is Karamel."

"Ooh, that's good," Kara said, nodding. "I approve."

"What about Sara and Leonard's?" Felicity asked. "Or, sorry, _Len's_."

Sara stuck her tongue out at the other blond and Felicity laughed. "Sorry, are the nickname rights only for you?"

"Yes," Sara huffed. "And Thea hasn't thought of a ship name for us yet."

"I just can't get one that sinks!" Thea said, sounding frustrated. "Like... Lenara is _okay_, but it doesn't have a great ring to it."

"Snartara?" Kara suggested. "No. Lenlance? Naw, Lanara the best so far."

"Maybe it's fate," Sara sighed, falling back dramatically on her sleeping bag. "Maybe it's supposed to tell me that Len and I are not meant to be."

"Don't be ridiculous," Iris said. "I've seen the way he looks at you, Sara, we all have."

"Yeah," Caitlin agreed. "Trust me on this one, girl. I went almost a year thinking that there was no possible way that Julian liked me back, only to find out that he totally did. I mean, Leonard asked you to Homecoming, right?"

"Yeah, and then stood me up," Sara grumbled. "Which I have forgiven him for, of course. It's just... you know. Guys. Hormones. High school. Life."

Thea sighed. "You can say that again."

"Guys. Hormones. High School-"

"_Sara_, it's a figure of speech," Thea groaned. "I don't _actually_ need you to say it again."

"I know that," Sara huffed. "I'm just being the comic relief."

Felicity snickered and pushed her glasses up her nose. Kara scratched at a bug bite on her arm. Silence fell.

"So..." Iris said after a long yawn. "When're we playing truth or dare?"

**Author's Note: YES, of course there will be more sleepover in the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed :) **


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: CHAPTER TWENTY OH MA GAAAAAAWWWWDDDDDDDDDD...**

**Anyway...**

After a short and rather boring game of Truth or Dare had been played (no one could think of any good dares that weren't weird or embarrassing, and all the truths asked were stuff everyone basically already knew), the girls talking slowly filtered off until each of them were fast asleep.

Kara woke up around 3:30 (according to her phone), and went to use the bathroom. When she came back, she hurriedly rooted through her bag, resisted the urge to groan in frustration and awkwardly shook Caitlin awake.

"Mm?" Caitlin mumbled, rubbing her eyes and blinking up at Kara. "Kara? What time is it?"

"Around 3:30," Kara responded in a whisper. "Um, Caitlin, so... I just started my period. And I don't, um, I don't have anything."

"Oh!" Caitlin sat up, looking more awake. "Oh no, I'm so sorry."

"Do you...?"

Caitlin bit her lip and shook her head. "My period just ended and I didn't bring any. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," mumbled Kara, shifting uncomfortably. "I just... thought I would wake you up and ask first before I woke up Thea."

"Yeah, yeah, totally," Caitlin nodded. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. But I'm sure Thea won't mind at all if you wake her up. She's a girl; she'll understand."

Kara nodded nervously. "Right, yeah, of course. Thanks, Caitlin."

Caitlin nodded back, though even as she laid down she wasn't planning on falling back asleep until she knew that Kara had everything figured out.

Kara took a deep breath and stepped between Sara and Iris to reach Thea's bed. She took another deep breath before gently shaking Thea's shoulder. "Thea?" she whispered. "Um... Thea?"

"Wussup?" Thea mumbled, her long hair falling in front of her face as she turned on her back. "Kara? You need something?"

"Um, yeah," Kara said, twisting her hands together. "I, um, I just started my period, and I was wondering where you keep your pads because I forgot mine."

Thea yawned widely and sat up, pushing her hair back. "Oh, yeah, hang on. There right in the bathroom."

She got up and led Kara out. They walked together to the upstairs bathroom and Thea rooted around in the closet before pulling out a few boxes of supplies. "There you go," she said with a smile. "Do you have, like, cramps or anything? I get them really bad and I've got medicine for it..."

"No, I'm fine," Kara said with a small smile. "Thanks, Thea."

"No problem," Thea grinned. She backed out the bathroom. "I'll let you get... yeah."

When Kara got back to the bedroom, she was surprised to find the other girls awake. "Okay, ladies," Iris said in a low voice. "What do you think about us heading outside and going for a walk?"

"In our pajamas?" Caitlin asked, seeming shocked by the notion.

Thea nodded, eyebrows wiggling. Sara shrugged, pushing her bed-head hair out of her face and sliding on a sweatshirt from her bag. "I'm down."

"It's it going to be cold?" Caitlin said, still sounding unsure of the idea. "I mean, it's December."

"Here," Thea tossed her a bulky sweatshirt that she had grabbed while she was rooting through her closet. "Wear this. I've got another one."

"Thanks," Caitlin said, grabbing the sweatshirt and putting it on. It seemed the other girls had come prepared with their own sweatshirts, and Felicity put on a pair of sweatpants over her sleep shorts. Kara and Iris both put their hair in large messy-buns, and the six girls crept out of Thea's room. They snuck down the stairs, hands over their mouths to stop any giggles that were trying to escape, and hurried to the front door.

Thea carefully unlatched and opened the door, and the girls tumbled out.

"It's raining!" Felicity gasped, the cold shock of the rain surprising her.

"Hang on," Thea said, hurrying back inside and coming out with four umbrellas. She had thrown on a raincoat so she didn't need one, and Sara insisted she was fine getting wet, so the other four girls had enough umbrellas to go around.

They snuck out onto the lawn, Kara gasping at the cold of the grass. Caitlin shivered, pulling Thea's sweatshirt tighter around her.

"Look at us!" Iris squealed. "Little rebels!"

"Oh, yeah, _so_ rebellious," Thea responded, rolling her eyes. "Sneaking out on the lawn. Big whoopty-doo."

They walked around for a little while, feeling bold and rebellious (except Thea), and admired the stars.

"Guys..." Kara murmured after a good twenty minutes. She yawned, widely. "It's cold. And I'm tired."

"I can't feel my feet," Sara admitted, soaked and barefoot. "Should we head back inside?"

The other girls nodded and they tramped back over the wet grass to Thea's house. It was completely dark, looming, and a little bit creepy, and her entryway looked like the entrance to a haunted house. Caitlin shivered, unnerved.

Thea shook out all their umbrellas as best she could and hung her raincoat up. Yawning, the girls tramped back up to the bedroom. Sara squeezed out her hair and changed into her clothes from yesterday, and then they all crashed into their respectively beds.

Felicity woke up first the next morning. She always did on sleepovers, not that she had gone to very many. She would spend her time laying in bed until she could wait no longer and then she would grab her phone and her book and do some reading while she waited for everyone else to wake up.

Iris was the next up. She rolled around for awhile, trying to get back to sleep, before giving up and waving at Felicity. "Hey, Fel," she mumbled, her hair a mess and still half in a bun from the night before.

"Morning," Felicity greeted in a whisper, not wanting to wake the other girls.

Iris flopped over and grabbed her phone from where it was charging along the wall. She unlocked it and hopped onto Instagram, leaving Felicity to keep on reading.

Caitlin was the next to wake. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, smiling at Felicity. "Good morning," she whispered. "And good morning, Iris."

"Morning," Iris responded, flipping onto her back. "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well," Caitlin said. She sat up and stretched, and Felicity sighed enviously. Somehow, even with her hair not immaculately curled and her makeup removed, Caitlin still looked _gorgeous_. "You?"

Iris mumbled something, still not looking awake, and Caitlin shook her head with a smile.

The talking, even though it was quiet, woke up Kara and Thea. Sara was still completely out, her blond hair sprawled across the pillow and her petit frame starfished across her sleeping bag. Her hair had dried since their early-morning adventures, and Felicity could only hope that she hadn't caught a cold from the rain.

After waiting a good fifteen minutes, Thea rolled her eyes and glanced at Sara. "Girls, no matter how loud we talk or how vocally we pronounce that we are awake and _hungry_, she's not gonna wake up. Sara could sleep through a fire alarm. Like, she had _actually slept through a fire alarm before_."

Felicity winced. "That sounds like a story."

"We shouldn't wake her up, though, she probably needs the sleep," Kara said, looking concerned."

"_We_ don't have to," Thea shrugged. "But _I'm_ gonna."

She hopped off her bed and crouched down beside Sara and leaned down so she was right in her ear. "Wake up!"

Sara snorted a little but didn't wake up.

"Alright, ladies, it's time for Plan B," Thea said seriously. She walked around to the other end of Sara and grabbed the cloth of her sleeping bag. In seconds, Sara was being picked up inside her bed and tipped upside down.

That woke her up. She garbled something and rubbed at her face, before squirming out of her sleeping bag like a worm and hopping to her feet. "Rude!" she mumbled, scratching her nose and yawning widely. "I was sleeping."

"We're _hungry_," Iris complained.

"I'd say Thea's hangry, not hungry, but hey that's just me," Sara responded with a shrug.

The girls all grabbed sweatshirts and headed downstairs. Felicity got all the way into the kitchen before she remembered that Thea had a brother, and that very same brother happened to be her sort-of-boyfriend. She was suddenly _very_ glad that she had changed from her short pajama bottoms and into sweatpants, and that she was wearing something other then just her pajama shirt.

"Morning, Ollie," Thea greeted.

"Morning," Oliver grumbled back. Felicity gulped. His hair was all mussed up from sleeping, and his voice was even lower then usual. She clenched her fists and tried hard to not internally swoon. Sometimes, Oliver was just so attractive that it _wasn't even fair_.

Rasia, the Queens' cook, came in from the kitchen. She was holding a large plate stacked high with pancakes. Sara's eyes grew wide. "_Pancakes!_"

"Of course, Sara," Rasia said in her faint accent, smiling, setting the plate down on the table. "Do you think that I would forget about your love of the pancakes?

Sara grinned. " 'Course not!" she responded, quickly sitting down next to Oliver and reaching for a plate. "Oh, hey Oliver."

"Hey, Sara," Oliver responded, smiling. "Haven't seen you around in awhile."

"Probably because you're always hiding in your room," Sara said, smirking and patting his arm when Oliver rolled his eyes. "Kara, could you be a dear and pass the syrup?"

Kara quickly poured syrup on her own stack of pancakes, and then passed the bottle to Sara. She quickly smiled at Oliver when they made eye contact, leaving Felicity to stare at her and Sara in amazement. How were they both so comfortable sitting with him at a breakfast table in their pajamas?

Also, why had Oliver yet to look at her this morning?

Suddenly self-conscious and a little bit depressed, Felicity smoothed down her hair and tried to hide behind her pancakes.

The girls spoke in low voices about school while they ate. Most of them were still half-asleep, but they woke up a bit more once they had food in their bellies.

"Alright, ladies," Thea spoke up. Oliver had long since left the lunch table with barely a glance at Felicity, which made her feel rather like a small green grape that someone had squashed.

"Alright, Thea," Sara responded, mimicking her friend's voice.

"Shut up, Sara," Thea said in the same mocking tone. "Anyway, what's our plan for this morning."

"More sleeeepppp..." groaned Iris, throwing herself down on the couch and sprawling across it. Sara promptly sat on her feet.

"My mom is picking me up at 9:30," Caitlin said, sitting neatly down on ottoman and pulling out her phone to check the time. "So I'm gonna have to leave in about fifteen minutes."

"Noooo Caitlin don't _leave_," Iris said, throwing her hand on her head dramatically. "It won't be the complete squad without you."

"Technically a squad should consist of four people," Felicity spoke up. "Like, for example, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny."

"No!" Kara gasped. "Harry, Ron, Hermione and Luna are the Harry Potter squad."

There was a long silence. Iris frowned. "Um... Luna?"

"Yeah!" Kara said. "Luna needs more love," she added as an explanation. "Also, I think four people would be a quad, not a squad."

"Okay, if it's anyone besides Ginny in the HP squad it's, like, Nevile, not Luna," Iris argued after Felicity had realized her word-mistake. "Luna only joined during, like, the third book."

Kara shrugged. "Hey, I'm not gonna argue. But Luna is totally an unappreciated character hero."

"I think that Draco is rather under-appreciated," Caitlin said thoughtfully. "Besides, he looks _so much_ like Julian."

"Oh my gosh, he totally does!" Felicity gasped. "Oh, and Caitlin, you look like Layla from Sky High."

"Who?" Caitlin said, wrinkling her nose and frowning. "I've never heard of that movie."

"Ooh, if we had more time I would _so_ suggest watching it," Felicity said vehemently. "It's one of my favorites ever."

"Who do I look like?" Sara asked curiously.

Frowning, the other girls considered her and then each other. Thea shrugged. "No one, I guess."

Sara pouted. "Darn. Well, Kara, if you were a bit older and had brown hair, wouldn't she look like that character from Glee? Marley... Marley-Rose, was it?"

"_Yesss_," Thea agreed whole-heartedly. "Yes totally."

Kara shrugged. "Never seen it. Is she a total dork like me?"

"You're not a _dork_," Iris said, shaking her head. "None of you are dorks. Nerds, maybe, but not dorks."

"I take pride in being a dork!" Kara gasped. "It's just a part of my charm."

The other girls snickered, and before anything else could be said the doorbell rang.

"Aw, shoot, that's my mom," Caitlin said with a sigh. "I'm gonna go grab my bag."

She hurried upstairs to pack up, and Thea walked over to the door. "Good morning, Mrs. Snow," she greeted with a smile. "Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you, young lady, but I don't really have time," Dr. Snow responded stiffly. "Caitlin!" she called over Thea's shoulder. "We have to get going!"

"Coming!" Caitlin yelled back, hurrying down the stairs with her bag over her shoulder. She quickly gave the girls hugs, Thea last. "Thanks for having me over. I had a lot of fun."

"Thanks for coming!" Thea answered with a grin. "We'll have to do something like this again."

With one last wave, Caitlin left the house.

The other girls filtered out over the course of the next hour, finally leaving Thea to go and pick up her room. She was sitting on her bed watching youtube when Rasia called up the stairs.

"Thea? Why are the umbrellas all wet?"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

When Kara got home, she found Alex wasn't there.

"Mom?" she asked, poking her head into the kitchen. "Where's Alex?"

"She went out with Maggie," Eliza Danvers responded.

"Whoa, wait what?" Kara's eyes went large. "Like, a date?"

Eliza shrugged. "I don't ask these things, Kara," she said. "Alex doesn't particularly to talk about her love life to me, and I don't want to push it."

"Oh, okay," Kara muttered awkwardly. "Um... I guess I'll just ask her when she gets back."

"How was the sleepover?" Eliza asked, changing the subject. "I know you were a little bit nervous to go. Did it turn out okay?"

"Oh, yeah!" Kara sat down at one of the kitchen table barstools and swung herself around in a circle. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I mean, Caitlin and Felicity were there so it wasn't like I was alone with Iris and Thea and Sara. And I mean they're really nice girls, obviously, but I don't really know them and they've also been friends for, like, _forever_. But yeah it was fun. We talked about boys a lot and we went on a walk in the lawn at 3 am."

"My goodness, sounds like quite the party," Eliza said with a smile. "And you had breakfast there?"

"Yeah, the Queens' cook, Rasia, made pancakes. Oliver was there for breakfast, too. I think Felicity was a little uncomfortable about that, because they didn't really talk to each other."

"They're dating, right?"

Kara scrunched up her nose. "Um.. I think so? It's really hard to tell. They're kind of the school's 'will they won't they' couple. They _were_ together, and then they broke up right after auditions for Beauty and Beast because of this whole complicated thing with auditions and stuff. But then I think they got back together. They're a little awkward around each other, though."

"Young couples tend to be," Eliza smiled. "How about you and Mon-El? How are things with you two?"

"Oh, Mon-El's great," Kara replied with a grin. "I actually need to text him. We haven't gone on a date in like, two weeks."

"Well, you have art classes on Wednesday afternoons after school, and indoor track on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays."

Kara mumbled something in acknowledgment and pulled out her phone. "I'll just suggest, like, lunch on Saturday or something," she said, sending a quick text to her boyfriend. "That should work with his schedule."

Sensing that the conversations was pretty much over, Eliza turned back to what she had been doing, and Kara, still on her phone, wandered out of the room.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Maggie and Alex were walking back from their lunch outing to their cars. Alex felt immensely happy. Spending the entire afternoon with Maggie had been, while stressful, a whole lot of fun.

"Thanks for doing this today, Danvers," Maggie said, playfully bumping Alex's shoulder with her own. "I had fun."

"Yeah!" Alex responded happily. "I did, too."

"You don't think it was weird that I didn't invite Laurel, right?" Maggie asked nervously. "Don't get me wrong- I _love_ hanging out the three of us, and it's been super great having friends like you guys. But sometimes one-on-one time is nice, right?"

"Yeah..." Alex repeated, slower. "Um... so Maggie, this is kind of an awkward question but I just feel like... well, I feel like I should ask. Just to... you know... make sure."

Maggie tilted her head, waiting.

"Is this... is this a date?" Alex asked quietly, feeling a blush spread across her cheeks. "Like, I know that we're friends, but we're also... I was just wondering. I figured I should ask."

"Oh," Maggie swallowed, mouth opening a little and one eye scrunching up in a half-wince. "Alex, I... I really just saw us as friends, honestly. Did you... gosh, I'm sorry. Inviting you today probably totally lead you on."

"No, no!" Alex assured her, feeling her face getting even redder. So, now she knew. Maggie _didn't_ like her that way. "I just... I was just... making sure. I should... I should go."

Maggie pursed her lips as Alex turned away. She was infinitely grateful that they had reached the parking garage by now. Her car was close by, and she could just get into it and drive away and pretend none of this had ever happened.

"Danvers, wait!" Maggie called as Alex power walked down the pavement. "Please don't go."

"It's fine, Maggie," Alex called over her shoulder, her voice breaking a little. "I- I have to get home. I had... thank you for today."

She didn't hear Maggie's response, because her car door slammed shut and she started the engine almost immediately.

Alex had never driven and cried at the same time before. Today, however, she did just that. She didn't answer any of Kara's questions when she got home, or her mother's concerned look. She didn't respond to Laurel's texts asking how it went, or Maggie's call. She shut herself in her room, plugged in her headphones, and tried to block out everything.

When her mom called her down for dinner, in a firm voice that told Alex that she had better not argue if she wanted today to not get worse, Alex finally came out of her room.

Kara eyed her worriedly. "Alex?" she asked softly, her big blue eyes filled with concern. "What happened today?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Alex muttered, sitting down and quickly serving herself dinner. She ate in record time, mumbled a quick, "Excuse me", and went back to her room.

On Monday, Eliza didn't take her excuse of being sick. "Alex, I don't know what happened on Sunday," she said firmly, seated on her daughters bed. "But you can't escape whatever it was by hiding out under your quilt. You're going to have to face it eventually, and putting it off is just going to make it worse."

Alex shook her head, her short hair hiding her face as she half-buried it in a pillow. "I was so stupid, mom," she mumbled, voice shaking. "I thought going out together just the two off us was a date, just because we both happen to like girls. Why does it have to be so confusing? Why can't people just have signs on their forehead that say what their true intentions are?"

Eliza laughed softly. "That would certainly be easier in some cases," she agreed. "But it would also complicate things. Honestly, the only way to get people true intentions is to just ask."

"Yeah, well, been there done that," Alex huffed. "And it basically ruined my life."

Eliza sighed. "Okay, dramatic teenager. Get out of bed, get dressed in your most confidence-producing outfit, and get your butt downstairs. Kara's making waffles, and you're not going to want to miss out on them."

She leaned down and kissed her daughter on the forehead before leaving her to get ready.

Alex sighed. All she wanted to do was throw on sweats and hide underneath the hood of a giant sweatshirt. But she didn't think her mom would be very happy if she didn't follow her instructions, so she turned to her closet and took a deep breath.

When she finally got downstairs to have a couple waffles before she drove her and Kara to school, she was dressed in navy blue skinny jeans, a mauve shirt, and her favorite collard leather jacket. Her hair was brushed, curled under the way she liked it, and she was wearing mascara and lipstick that matched her shirt. If she looked great, she didn't notice. It didn't change how she felt.

Kara gave her a sympathetic smile and a plate of fresh waffles with syrup, whipped cream and strawberries. "Thanks," Alex murmured, eating the waffles as quickly as she could so that she wouldn't make them late for school.

As she stepped into AV High just in time to hear the first warning bell, Alex took a deep breath. Just one day of facing Maggie. One day could be so bad, right?

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

A couple days after the sleepover, Felicity was hovering near her locker listening to Winn babble on about some math concept that annoyed him. It was an uncommon occurrence to hear Winn complaining about math, a subject with normally came easily to him, and Felicity felt it was only fair that she let him rant.

Winn's gaze slipped past her shoulder and his words died off abruptly. "Oh, uh, hey, Oliver," he stuttered. "Um... what's up, dude?"

Butterflies exploding in her stomach, Felicity turned around to see that, yes, it _was_ Oliver Queen standing behind her. "Hi," she murmured, her voice not quite coming out so she really just ended up mouthing the word.

"Hi, Felicity," Oliver said, smiling a little. "How's your day been?"

Winn took his cue and stepped back awkwardly. "I'm just gonna... go pee," he muttered, throwing his backpack strap over one shoulder and splitting.

"It's been pretty good," Felicity replied, biting her lip. "Um... how's yours been?"

"It's been a Thursday," Oliver chuckled.

They stood for a moment in silence, before Felicity looked back up again. "Not that I'm complaining but... why exactly are you here?"

Oliver shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I felt like you might think I was ignoring you when you came over to Thea's on Sunday. I wasn't, but I just felt like I should make up for it."

A weight that Felicity hadn't even noticed lifted off her chest. "Oh," she said softly. "Well... that's good."

"Yeah." Oliver stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Felicity wasn't used to seeing Oliver look awkward or uncomfortable in his own skin. But here he was: slouched down a little and peeking at her from under his fringe of blond hair. His incredibly blue eyes were looking right at her, and his mouth was a little scrunched to the side, unsure of what to say.

Felicity smiled.

"I was also thinking," Oliver spoke up, seemingly encouraged by the smile. "That I should maybe clarify where we are in our relationship right now."

Felicity tilted her head. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"A lot of people have talked to me recently about whether you and I are, well, actually dating," Oliver said awkwardly, hands stuffing even deeper into his pockets. "And when I tried to answer them I found that I honestly didn't know. I mean, I know that we're speaking, you know? We made up after the whole Beauty and the Beast thing. But are we actually dating?"

Felicity's mind, unhelpfully, latched onto the first thing she heard. "Who's asking if we're dating?"

"Um... Thea, mostly," Oliver said slowly. "Did you hear anything I said after that?"

"Oh, oh, yeah," Felicity stuttered. "Um..." She was about to say she didn't know, ask what he thought, but here _he_ was asking_ her _about something in _their_ relationship. What did _she_ want? She could give him any answer she liked.

"Yeah," Felicity said, shoulders straightening and finally looking Oliver straight in he eye. "Yes, we are dating."

Oliver looked a little surprised at her passionate response. "Okay then," he responded with a small smile. Then he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

Felicity's eyes went wide, and she still wasn't exactly sure what to say when, two days later, he texted her a 'Happy Birthday'.

**Author's Note: Hopefully you enjoyed this last chapter! I'm sorry if Felicity and Oliver are SOOOO OOC- I'm having a bit of trouble writing them. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Ahhhh I just spent the last, like, 15 minutes reading back over my AV High writing. It's really a dangerous thing to do. I could spend hours re-reading this thing XD**

Sara, Iris, Thea, Laurel and Alex, also known as the Basketball Squad, were ready. It was the third game of the season, and they had about three more tricks and seven more maneuvers to try out than last game.

The past two games, the AV High Metahumans had _dominated_ the competition. Just last game, they had scored 53 points. The "Basketball Squad" alone had gotten 48 of those aforementioned 53 points.

Today, they were playing against the Prometheus High School Savages. They didn't look all that savage to Laurel, the Meta's team captain, but they were certainly tall.

"Alright, Team!" Coach Marlise DeVoe called out. She had led the Metahumans to win the championship for the past three years, and she wasn't about to stop now. "Gather around, girls."

Her team tossed their practice basketballs away and walked over to her to hear their pre-game pep talk.

"Third game, ladies," Marlise said, looking hard at all off them. "Be ready, be prepared, and don't let the last two games wins make you cocky. Keep your focus." Then she smiled. "And have fun."

The girls grinned. Sara fist-bumped Laurel.

"What team are we?!" she yelled.

"Metahumans!" the other girls echoed.

"What team are we?!"

"Metahumans!"

"And what are we gonna do?!"

"Play some basketball!"

The girls let out loud cheers and ran onto the basketball court.

After the national anthem, sung by a member of the Meta's (a girl named Siobhan Smythe, who was also playing Mrs. Potts in the Beauty and the Beast production in a couple of weeks), both teams ran through the high-fives and started the game.

The Metas were up five and triumphant when one of the Savages got the ball. She quickly tossed it to her team mate, who jumped up in the air to grab it and then brought it down.

Straight down on Iris' head.

"Iris!" Thea gasped, turning from where she was blocking another girl as Iris collapsed against the ground.

Another voice, much louder, also cried Iris' name. "IRIS!" Barry Allen yelled, shooting to his feet. People sitting around him in the bleachers turned to stare for a moment, then looked back at the court.

The whistle blew. Sara ran over from defense and crouched beside her friend. "Iris?"

Iris groaned, rubbing her head. The sports medic hurried from the sidelines and onto the court. "Are you alright, young lady?" he asked seriously, helping Iris sit up with a hand on her back.

"She got hit in the head pretty hard," Sara said nervously.

"Why don't we go get you checked out," the medic said calmly, helping Iris to her feet. She followed him dazedly as he helped her off of the court and into the practice room.

Barry, still on his feet, made eye contact with Thea. She looked at him worriedly, and he leaned down grabbing his coat. He wished Joe was here. He had been called into a case about seven minutes before they were set to leave for Iris' game. Barry had still come, of course. He came to every game, and would continued to do so even if Iris tried out and got into a Varsity team next year and would have to travel all over to play.

By the time he made it to the bottom of the bleachers, the basketball game had restarted. Barry ignored the basket made by the other team, then the rebound by the Metas, and soon reached the hallway to the medic's office.

Dr. Palmer (who happened to be Ray Palmer's, a kid at AV High, dad) looked up.

"Um... hi," Barry said awkwardly, eyes on Iris. "I'm Barry Allen, Iris' boyfriend. Is she okay?"

"She will be fine, Mr. Allen," Dr. Palmer replied, handing Iris an icepack. "Unfortunately, however, Ms. West has a mild concussion and will not be able to play the rest of the season."

Iris' eyes went wide and she let out a gasp. "What? No- I have to play! I only do one season of sports- _Please_, Dr. Palmer..."

"I'm sorry, Ms. West," Dr. Palmer sighed. "But I'm afraid that it could be very dangerous for you to continue playing basketball this season. What if you got hit in the head again? That could risk a worse concussion or even brain damage."

Iris slumped, icepack dropping from her forehead.

Dr. Palmer turned to Barry. "Is Iris' father here?"

Barry shook his head. "Detective Joe West got called into the police department to deal with a new case just before the game. But I can easily take home any information and give it to him, and I can take Iris home."

Dr. Palmer hesitated, then nodded. "Alright then, Mr. Allen. Ms. West is not allowed to go to school or have any screen time for a week. If she is still getting headaches after that week, the period will go longer. She should be in a dark room most of the time, and not do anything too strenuous for her brain." The medic turned and grabbed a piece of paper. "I'm going to write this all down for you, as well as a prescribed medicine to help with her headaches, alright?"

Barry nodded, and he and Iris waited as Dr. Palmer wrote down all the information he had just given them.

A couple minutes later, Iris was taking her icepack and Barry's arm and they were walking out of the small doctor's office together. Thea and Laurel, who had been switched out for a few minutes for a water break, ran up to them. "Iris!" Thea gasped. "Are you okay?"

"I have a mild concussion," Iris muttered. "And I won't be able to play the rest of the season."

Thea's face fell dramatically, but Laurel just nodded. "Don't you worry, Iris," she said with a smile. "This happened to another girl last year, and she became the Team Manager. She still got to come to all the games and be apart of the team."

"She just couldn't play," Iris finished with a long sigh. "Thanks, Laurel, but I think I'm just going to go home for now."

She gave Thea a tight hug. "Tell Sara I say bye, okay? I'm not going to be seeing you guys for a week and I can't text."

Thea looked horrified. "Okay," she murmured. "We'll miss you, Iris."

Iris nodded let Barry herd her out of the basketball court. They arrived at Barry's car without bumping into anyone, and the second Iris' door closed, she burst into tears.

Barry unbuckled, got back out of the car and pulled Iris into a hug. Headache added to disappointment and she was inconsolable for a good five minutes. Barry held her tightly and kissed the top of her head over and over again, stroking her hair.

After she calmed down a little, Barry got her a tissue and she blew her nose and wiped her eyes. Then they loaded back into the car, and Barry drove them both home. He led Iris inside and got her another ice-pack for her head, before texting Joe. In a couple of minutes, Joe and Iris were on the phone and Iris had started crying again.

Joe told her he was on his way home before hanging up. Iris sniffled and wiped her eyes, and Barry sat down on the couch next to her. She buried into his chest and let out a sigh.

"Maybe you can play a spring sport?" Barry suggested softly. "Don't Thea and Sara do lacrosse?"

"I wouldn't make the team," Iris sniffled. "I'm not any good at lacrosse."

"Well, then, you and I will just have to go on runs together," Barry suggested. He did cross country and track (at different times of the year, of course), and was training to run a half-marathon that summer.

Iris tilted her head back, giving him a look. He took the hint and shut up.

Joe came home later and set Iris up with everything she would need for the next week. She wasn't looking forward to being cooped up in her room with nothing to do at _all_, but the meds she was given for her headache made her drowsy and she would probably just sleep most of the time.

By the time Barry got to school the next day, somehow word had managed to spread throughout almost the entire building that Iris West had a concussion. In some places, the details were morbidly out of proportion (with elements like brain damage and being permanently stuck at home), but that's what happens with rumors.

When Barry went to get books from his locker, he felt a bit like he was being swarmed by sharks. Thea and Sara came charging up to him. "Barry!" Sara all but yelled. "How is Iris? Is she okay? Is she going to be at school after her week is up? She doesn't have brain damage, does she? I heard that she has brain damage."

"She doesn't have brain damage, Sara," Thea said, rolling her eyes. "I told you that a million times."

Barry nodded awkwardly in agreement. "Yeah, she's- she's fine. I mean, she's disappointed, obviously. But she'll be okay. No brain damage."

Thea and Sara nodded vigorously, looking relieved. Barry swallowed, gesturing over his shoulder with a thumb. "Am I... free to go, now?"

"Yes," Thea allowed. Barry hurried off with his books to go greet Caitlin, Cisco and Julian.

Thea sighed, exchanging mournful looks with Sara. AV High without Iris was going to be a boring place indeed.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Alright, girls, you've been uncomfortably skirting around each other all week, and it's starting to get on my nerves."

Both Maggie and Alex looked up, looked at each other, then quickly looked away. Laurel rolled her eyes. "What _happened_ on Sunday? And, yes, Maggie, I know about Sunday. And, no, Maggie, I'm not offended that you didn't invite me."

Maggie Sawyer shut her mouth.

"Laurel, can you just drop it?" Alex muttered. She hadn't told anyone exactly what happened last Sunday with Maggie, except the brief details given to her mom. "I told you that nothing happened."

Maggie raised her eyebrows. Alex looked away.

"Like that! Right there!" Laurel exclaimed. The librarian looked over and raised her eyebrows, and Laurel groaned softly and lowered her voice. "You guys used to be so much fun to hang around with. Yes, we all knew there was the possibility that you would end up dating because you both like each other, but what _happened_?"

"No, Laurel, we don't," Alex snapped, spine straightening. "We _don't_ both like each other. Just because we are two gay girls doesn't mean we have to like each other."

"I didn't say-"

"No, you didn't," Maggie said calmly. "But as I said to Alex on Sunday, I see our relationship as purely platonic. I just moved here, and I just ended a year and a half long relationship that I had with my girlfriend. What I'm looking for is friends, like you and Alex are."

Laurel's eyes widened. She looked at Alex, opened her mouth, and then shut it again. "Oh," she said softly, understand dawning. "I, um... yeah. Of course. I apologize if we didn't respect those wishes, Maggie."

Alex abruptly stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom," she muttered, hurrying out of the room and down the hall.

As she went, she banged into none other that Winn Schott.

"Hey, Alex," he greeted with one of his trademark grins. "What's up?"

Alex shrugged, shifting awkwardly on her toes. She wanted to get her bags and get out of the building before Laurel or Maggie came to look for her, and Winn was in her way.

Winn tilted his head. "Are you alright? Where are Laurel and Maggie?"

"Where are Kara and Cisco?" Alex shot back, drumming her fingers on her jeans. Maybe she could hurt Winn's feelings so badly that he would move and let her by.

Even as she thought that, she knew she couldn't. Winn was _way_ too nice of a guy to hurt for no reason, and he also probably wouldn't even take anything she would say to hurt his feeling seriously. Unless she started talking about his father, of course, which she would _never_ do.

"Erm..." Winn glanced over his shoulder and shrugged. "I dunno. I think they were going to hang out with Barry? He's been a little down without Iris around."

"Um, yeah, that's too bad," Alex said. "We're really going to miss her on the team this year."

Winn nodded and started to say something, but a voice made him look away from Alex and past her shoulder.

"Alex?" Laurel called, her voice echoing down the corridor.

Alex bit back a curse, looked around, and dragged Winn into an empty classroom. Laurel walked past, but she didn't see them and was soon disappearing around another corner.

Winn's eyebrows scrunched. He looked halfway in between confused and bemused, and leveled Alex with a look. "Trust me, you're not the only girl to drag me into an empty classroom, but I'm getting the feeling that you aren't looking to make out."

Alex pulled a face, wincing in disgust. "I would like nothing less, no offense."

"Offense taken."

"Which girls have pulled you into empty classrooms?" Alex questioned, trying to keep the subject off of why _she_ had done just so long enough for her to make her escape.

Winn frowned thoughtfully. "Mmm... a girl named Lyra did, back when I was a Freshman," he said. "She was a senior. It was actually a little bit alarming. But!" He turned his gaze back to Alex and tried to stare her down. "Don't change the subject."

Alex sighed, sitting down on one of the desks. "Guilty," she admitted. "Look, I was just trying to get out of the building before Laurel or Maggie came to talk with me."

"Why?"

Alex groaned. "Are you always this nosy?"

When Winn only shrugged and gave her a half-smile, she realized that he wasn't taking the hint that she didn't want to talk.

So she did. She opened her mouth and she told Winn _all of it_. She hadn't realized she was basically unburdening all of her romantic drama on him until she found herself going back to the beginning of the year and explaining why Homecoming had made her think Maggie liked her. Winn listened quietly for the whole thing, even as Alex started crying (again), when she began telling him about that past Sunday.

"I was so embarrassed," she blubbered, putting her face in her hands and speaking through her fingertips. "If I had never said anything, it would have been a really great day. But I had to go and open my stupid mouth and now Maggie knows I like her and everything is all weird. And today Laurel picked up on it and asked and I just really didn't want to talk to her about all of this. And I _definitely_ didn't want to talk to Maggie. Winn, I've ruined _everything_."

Winn patted her on the back. He had moved to sit next to her on top of the desk, and they were squished together so neither of them would fall off.

"I don't think you made a mistake, Alex," he said with a shrug. "You have to tell people how you feel. I learned that the really really really really hard way after I spent like half of my life falling in love with your sister."

He shrugged again, dropping his hand to his lap. " 'Cause there's, like, always a chance, you know? Maggie might have felt the same. You could have been right. And if you had never told her how you felt you would have lived every day knowing that you could have had more of a relationship. Regret isn't something you want to live with, ever."

"I'd rather that than a broken heart," Alex muttered disconsolately.

Winn shook his head. "No you wouldn't," he said softly. "Trust me; I tried. For, like, eight years."

Now it was Alex patting Winn on the shoulder. "Hey, you did the right thing, telling Kara how you felt..."

She trailed off, and realized what she had said. Winn raised his eyebrows. "And you didn't?"

Alex sighed, then gave him a half-hearted glare. "You're pretty good at this," she mumbled.

Winn laughed, and they switched shoulder patting roles one more time before he hopped off the desk. "I'm going to head home, okay?" he said, smiling at Alex. "Have a wonderful afternoon."

"Thanks, Winn," Alex replied, shaking her head. Just before he left the room, she called out. "Hey- you will find someone, you know that, right? Just keep doing what your doing. Some girl will come along eventually."

Winn shrugged. "Yeah," he sighed. "Same goes for you."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Thea was surprised to see Roy Harper walking over to her table. He seemed to be very uncomfortable in his usual red hoody and jeans, stuffing his hands in his pockets and then crossing his arms and then running his fingers his hair before shoving his hands back in his pockets and starting all over again.

"Hi, Roy," Thea greeted with a bright smile. Sara was nudging her _very_ obviously, smirking and wiggling her eyebrows before sending Roy an innocent smile. "What's up?"

"Look, so, um..." Roy cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together. "I know it's been a pretty long time since you suggested that whole double-date thing with us and Leonard and Sara, but, um... My answer has changed."

Both Thea and Sara's eyebrows went up. Sara spoke first. "Wait, really? Oof, I'm going to have to tell Leonard that the double-date is back on again. All this change might blow his brains to bits."

Thea raised her eyebrow. "At lunch, Sara, really? Gross."

Roy smirked. "Yeah, well, take it or leave it. But if you guys want to go on a double date I'm not going to be the reason you don't."

Thea leapt to her feet, threw her arms around him, and pecked his cheek. "You, Roy Harper, are literally the best boyfriend _ever_."

Roy turned as red as his sweatshirt. "Um... um..."

"Take it while you can get it, man," Sara spoke up, smirking at the display. "One second she's going to be glorifying the ground you walk on, the next she'll be making you shine her shoes. Ooh, that was good."

Thea glared at her, and Roy made his escape. Once Thea sat back down, the rest of the table (which included Caitlin, Felicity and Kara, who had been siting with Iris, Thea and Sara more and more often after their sleepover) all leaned forward.

"Giiiiirl..." Kara murmured. "I am _very _impressed. It does not seem like it would be easy for you two convince either of them to go on dates."

"Leonard and I have been going on dates since before Thanksgiving break," Sara said casually, shrugging. The entire table gaped at her. "What? I didn't need to spread the news to the entire school. I don't care if people want to know or not, and I don't need everyone's opinions on our relationship."

"You could have told _me_!" Thea gasped, looking pained. "I'm your best friend."

"Best _non-related_ friend," Sara corrected. "Laurel comes first. And she knew, by the way. My father, however... well, he doesn't, exactly? He knows we're hanging out, but... he doesn't know we're dating."

Thea gave her a hurt look, and Caitlin quickly intervened before things could escalate. "So, when are you going to tell him about the double date?"

Sara shrugged again. "Mm, maybe if I catch him after school today? He was pretty chill when I asked him last time. He basically just shrugged and agreed. Actually, that was when I asked him out. Or we kind of asked each other out?" She grinned. "Maybe a story for the next sleepover."

Felicity grinned widely. "I am _down_."

Thea still looked affronted. "I don't think I can wait until the next sleepover," she huffed. "Considering you've been covering up these _very important details_ since _before Thanksgiving Break_!"

Sara laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "It really wasn't that exciting, Thea. We basically danced around each other for a good three minutes before he finally got up the nerve to actually ask me out. See? Wasn't exciting."

Thea huffed again. "I'm still offended," she proclaimed. "So offended, in fact, that I may just move tables."

Sara snorted, and a grin cracked Thea's face. Kara, Felicity and Caitlin exchanged relieved looks, glad that Thea wasn't actually mad anymore.

After school, as planned, Sara located Leonard. "Heeeey, dude," she greeted.

Leonard smiled and gave her a quick hug. "Hey yourself, Assassin. How was your day?"

She shrugged, and they walked together across the black top in front of AV High, towards the parking lot. It was a Wednesday, and neither of them had sports practice. "It was okay, I guess. A Wednesday. How was your day?"

"Pretty normal," Leonard agreed.

"Okay, so, get this," Sara said, glancing up at him. "Roy came up to Thea and Caitlin and Felicity and Kara and I today when we were sitting eating lunch together. Apparently, he's changed his mind about the double date."

Leonard pulled a face. "Oh, _joy_."

Sara looked up at him seriously. "You don't _have_ to come. Just because you said yes before doesn't mean you have to say yes, now. It'd be good for Thea and Roy to have some alone couple time. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

"Naw," Leonard shrugged. "I told you before: I'll go with you as long as I don't have to wear a suit. One: I don't own a suit. Two... I don't own a suit."

She raised her eyebrow. "Um... that's only one reason."

"But it's a solid reason," Leonard countered. "Anyway, tell Thea I'm in. It'll be good for my to get my butt out of the house some weekend and pretend to be a social person."

Sara nodded, smiling. "Alright, I'll give her a call tonight. I hope you like groupchats, because I am _so_ starting one."

Shaking his head, Leonard watched Sara dart across the pavement and towards Laurel's waiting car.

**Author's Note: AWWW I JUST LOVE WRITING COLDCANARY!**

**Also Winnnnn :D :D Okay lowkey this is such a perfect time to post this chapter considering what's been going on with Supergirl! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: Guyyyyssss Happy Valentine's Day!**

**Wouldn't it have been so cool if I could have timed the posting of these chapters with real-life happenings? Like, Thanksgiving would have been posted on Thanksgiving. Valentine's Day on Valentine's Day. That would have been neat.**

It was Friday night when Caitlin received a text from Julian.

_Can you meet me anywhere at anytime tomorrow? I really need to talk to you._

A feeling of dread pooled in her stomach, and Caitlin stared in confusion at the text. What could he possibly need to talk to her about that he couldn't text or call?

The only thing she could think of was that was breaking up with her. But that made no sense at all. She had thought they were in a good place; just today he had asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She, of course, had told him what she told everyone else: "Donate to your favorite medical research charity in my name. If you want to get me a gift, please do so at Christmas." It was a system she had figured out a couple years ago, with her birthday being only three days away from Christmas (which totally sucked).

She had told Julian he didn't need to donate, and that he could just get her a Christmas gift, and he had agreed that he might do just that. While his allowance was large, it wasn't bottomless, and he already paid for both of their dinners on most dates.

So what would have made him break up with her between the time that they had spoke about that this afternoon and now?

Heart beating super-fast, Caitlin called her boyfriend. "Julian," she said as soon as he picked up, which didn't take very long. "You can't text me something like that and expect me to wait until tomorrow to find out what your talking about! Because it _really_ sounds like your going to break up with me and I won't be able to_ sleep tonight_ because I'm going to be freaking out!"

"Calm down, Caitlin," Julian said soothingly. "I'm not breaking up with you, I promise."

Relieved, Caitlin let out a slow breath. "Good," she said. "Good, that's... that's good. What did you need to talk about, then, that you couldn't over text or phone?"

"I have some... news," Julian said cryptically. "I just thought it would be better to talk face to face. But I can see where making you wait would be horrible so I'll just tell you now."

"Okay." Caitlin paced her room, nervously drumming her fingers. "What's up?"

Julian took a deep breath. "Alright, don't freak out on me, okay? I... I overheard my parents talking tonight. They were... they were discussing moving back to London."

Caitlin actually had to sit down. "_What?!_" she choked. "Now?! Right before Christmas?!"

"I don't know when," Julian said quickly. "I don't even know if we're moving for sure. I mean, I just overheard them. They haven't even talked directly to me about it. But if they do... I'll do everything I can to convince them that we have to stay. I just... I felt like you should know, and I needed to tell _someone_, and I know you won't go spreading rumors around the entire school."

"No, no, of course not," Caitlin murmured, running her fingers through her hair. "I would never do that. Thank you for telling me. And if you still want to see me tomorrow I can definitely meet you."

"Alright," Julian sighed. "Thanks for being so chill about this."

They said their goodbyes and hung up, and Caitlin wandered slowly downstairs.

"Caitlin?" Carla, Caitlin's mom, asked. "What's going on? Who were you talking to upstairs?"

"Julian," Caitlin responded, and before she could help it she started to cry. "He- he said he overheard his parents talking about going back to London."

Carla's eyebrows rose. "Oh," she murmured. "Oh my." She walked forward and awkwardly placed her arms around Caitlin. "I'm sorry, honey. But you must understand- these things happen."

"But- but it's right before Christmas and Winter Formal and my- my _birthday_," Caitlin sobbed. "And everything! Julian can't leave, mom. I can't do a long-distance relationship over _two different timezones_!"

"Shhh..." Carla whispered, rubbing her daughter's back. "Take a deep breath, Caitlin. There's nothing you can do. If this is what Julian's parents thinks is best for their family then they're going to make the move. There's nothing you can do to stop that. The best way to look at this is to make sure you make the most possible out of your time with Julian while he's still here."

Caitlin nodded tearfully. "Okay. Thanks, mom."

Carla looked surprised. She wasn't used to having any moments where her daughter needed advice so badly she came to her for it. It gave her an odd feeling of importance.

She brushed it off with a quick nod and turned back to what she was doing. Caitlin nodded back, wiped her eyes, and walked slowly upstairs. Even with her mother's advice she was still miserable. How was she supposed to survive the rest of her Junior year _and_ her Senior year without Julian Albert?

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

The only reason Felicity was currently in the gym waiting for the late bus a half hour early was because she lost her phone and needed to check all the classrooms she had been in that day until she found it. Needless to say, she was a bit peeved that part of the afternoon before weekend was going to be spent staring at math problems in the gym.

Then Oliver Queen walked it. "Felicity!" he cried, looking overjoyed to see her. "I'm glad I caught you."

"You are?" Felicity asked, surprised. If he hadn't seemed so happy she would have thought he was breaking up with her, but she didn't think that was the case. "Why? What's up?"

Oliver smiled widely. "I wanted to wish you a Happy Hanukkah before you left today."

Felicity's eyebrows shot up and she _beamed_. "Aw, Oliver, thank you! I mean, Hanukkah started on the 12th but you're still only the third person so say that to me."

Oliver winced. "Yeah, so... I kind of only found out this afternoon that you're Jewish? I was talking to Dig about what I should get you for Christmas and he mentioned that you didn't actually _celebrate_ Christmas. He thought I was still supposed to get you a gift but I wasn't sure."

"No worries," Felicity assured him. "Yeah, Hanukkah lasts for eight days and yes we do gifts. But, like, please don't get me a dreidel or something- I've collected so many of those over the years from aunts and uncles and grandparents and people, and I just don't have the heart to throw them away, so I have like this whole drawer just filled with dreidels-"

Oliver was laughing and Felicity trailed off, wishing she could hide under her backpack.

"Alright, I get it," Oliver chuckled. "No dreidels."

"Yeah," Felicity agreed, relieved. "Thanks."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Thea, Roy and Leonard all received the same text at around the same time.

'_Okie bros. When's date nite'_

Thea smirked at Sara's text and responded to her friend. '_I'm free on Saturday almost all day hbu?'_

_'__Saturday works_' Leonard responded after only a couple seconds. Thea was impressed.

Roy took a full hour to get back to them. _'Whenever works_'

Unsure if that meant that Saturday worked and he had checked with his parents and all of that, Thea texted, _'Like 12:30 for lunch or r we doing dinner?'_

Again, Leonard's reply was almost in an instant. _'Lunch is good with me'_

_'__Okaaaaay_' Sara replied. _'Where r we going? Somewhere downtown?'_

Thea sent a shrugging emoji. Roy didn't answer.

_'__There's a diner close to school' _Leonard responded. _'It has good food. I can send u guys the address_._'_

_'__Cool beans :)'_ Sara texted.

"Hey mom!" Thea yelled, running out of her room and peering over the banister. "Is it okay if I go on a double date with Roy and Sara and Leonard?"

"A double date?" Moria Queen came to the bottom of the stairs, frowning. "You have a boyfriend, Thea? Why haven't I heard about this?"

"_Because you're always working and think I'm talking to myself when I start telling you about Roy_," Thea mumbled. Then she pasted on a grin and shrugged. "I don't know how you could have missed it, mom. I talk about Roy all the time."

Moria frowned deeper. "I don't really know his parents, Thea. Or Leonard's."

"It's not like we're having a sleepover," Thea groaned. "I won't even be going to either of their houses. Come on, mom, it took me just about forever to get Roy to agree to this. I can't back out now."

Moria's lips pinched together. "Alright, fine. But I'll expect you to be home before 10:00."

"Oh my gosh, we're going out for lunch!" Thea cried. "I'll probably be home before four!"

She turned with a huff and stomped off to her room. "Alright, fine" would have to be a good enough "yes" for her to get out of the house on Saturday.

On cue, her phone buzzed. _'I can go Sat'_ Roy said.

_'__12:30 is good for everyone?'_ Sara asked.

Multiple yeses were sent back to her, and Thea leaned back against her bed, smiling contentedly. Even though it had been over a month since she had first had this "double date" idea, she was now finally going to make it happen. Now she just hoped it wouldn't be a total disaster.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Oh my goodness," Kara exclaimed as she sat down next to Mon-El in their History class. "Oh my goodness gracious I am stressing out."

"Why are you stressing out?" Mon-El asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because the school play is no less than _8 days away_," she grit out, her entire face tense and her eyes almost the size of small clementines. "And, if you recall, I am _playing the lead_."

Mon-El smiled, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "You'll do awesome, Kara, don't worry! You've been practicing for this play for, like, months. You _not_ doing great would be more of a surprise to me than you messing up."

"I _know_," Kara groaned. "I just get so jittery when I think about it. What if I totally freeze up?"

That happens in acting," Mon-El shrugged. "The other actors cover for you. It's not the end of the world. It's called 'Live Theater'."

"When did you get so knowledgable in area of theater?" Kara teased, laughing a little.

" 'Bout the time that my girlfriend got a lead," Mon-El countered.

Kara smiled at him, but then her face fell. "You know... I was kind of hoping that Oliver Queen wouldn't be my first kiss."

Mon-El's face fell, too, and he went very still. "Oh."

"Yeah," Kara sighed. "I mean, I know it's as Belle, but it _is_ still me. And I actually have to kiss him, according to Mr. Merlyn. But, like, I don't know. You're my first boyfriend- real boyfriend, anyway; Adam didn't count- and I kind of wanted you to be my first real kiss. And, like, I get why we _haven't_ kissed yet- I don't want to rush it, either! I just think it'd be nice."

Mon-El nodded, echoing her sigh. "I know what you mean," he said softly. "And I'd kiss you right here, right now, I really would. But in the History classroom? That's just not..."

"Right," Kara finished. "I know."

They didn't talk any more about it until that evening, when Mon-El gave Kara a call.

"Hey," he greeted, nervously rubbing his hand across his knee even though she wasn't there. "Um, so... I was wondering if you'd be able to meet me on Saturday night. After dinner do you want to go out and walk around downtown? I can get you an hot cocoa and we can celebrate before your big show."

"Oh!" Kara blinked, surprised. She knew, deep down, why he was doing this. At the same time, it didn't feel forced. They had been dating for quite a few months now, and a hot-cocoa-date was the perfect time to have their first kiss. "Um, yeah, I'll ask my mom right now; hang on."

She didn't hang up; just dropped her phone onto her bed and ran downstairs. "Hey, mom, Mon-El asked me on a date this Saturday after dinner. Can I go?"

"Check your schedule," Eliza responded predictably.

Kara nodded and ran to the calendar that was hanging on the wall, decorated with everything she and Alex had going on. Grinning, she found that Saturday evening was free and quickly wrote in '_Date with Mon-El'_ in a red (his favorite color) gel pen. Then she ran back upstairs and picked up her phone again.

"Okay, I can go!" Kara told him excitedly. "Where do you want to meet?"

After figuring out the logistics of their date, Mon-El and Kara said goodnight and hung up. Mon-El leaned back in his chair, stomach twisting with nerves. He was, in part, relieved that he had a deadline that he had to kiss Kara by, as weird as that sounded. Sure, he had wanted it to be spontaneous and sweet, but if he didn't get a serious kick in the butt to just kiss her already, he would most likely chicken out every opportunity he got. This way, he knew exactly when he _needed_ to kiss her by, at least if he wanted to be her first kiss. And he sure as _heck_ wasn't going to let Oliver Queen steal that from him.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

And so it happened that six students at AV High planned dates on Saturday.

And so it happened that they had the worst snow storm that Central City had seen in _3 years_ on that very same day.

"I can't believe this," Sara groaned over the phone to Thea. "I was seriously looking forward to this date!"

"Me too," Thea sighed. She was lying on her bed and twisting her hair around her finger, phone on speaker mode. She was going in for a haircut next weekend, and was trying to play with her hair as much as humanly possible before it was gone. "I bet Roy will totally not agree to another date after this. He'll probably just say it's cursed or something and we were never supposed to go."

As she was speaking, her phone buzzed. Thea frowned and exited the call to check her messages. Then she laughed. "Well, forget I said anything."

"He wants to reschedule, doesn't he?" Sara said, smirk evident in her voice.

"_Yes_," Thea sighed. "I suppose I shouldn't have doubted him. I really do wonder why he's suddenly so onboard with this, though."

"He likes you, Thea," Sara said. "And he wants to make you happy. You were super excited about this idea and he shut it down. Maybe he just feels bad and wants to... right his wrongs, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess." Thea shrugged and ran her hand through her hair. Her ends really _were_ dead. "I hope I'm not totally pressuring him into this, though. Like, I'm totally excited about going on a double date with you guys but if he's not that's not really fair, right?"

"He'd tell you," Sara replied. "Like, he'd tell you if he didn't want to do it, and he'd tell you why." Then she paused. "I mean, I dunno. Maybe he wouldn't. He's Roy Harper; I honestly can't get a read on him."

Thea laughed. "So are we just going to move our plans to next Saturday? Or should we try tomorrow?"

"I think it's supposed to keep snowing," Sara said thoughtfully. "Hang on, I'll check the weather."

She was quiet for a moment, then, "Yeah, the snow is gonna keep going until 10 o'clock tomorrow, and then there'll be plows and stuff. Ooh, maybe we'll get a snow day on Monday."

"That'd be _amazing_," Thea agreed. "We haven't had a snow day yet and it's already December 12. Like, my brains are melting. I need a break."

"Christmas break is in a little over ten days. And by that I mean 11 days," Sara responded. "You'll be _fine_."

They fell into silence, watching the snow fall with only the occasional complaint of _why today_.

A couple streets away, the complaint were much more vocal. "I can't even believe this," Kara moaned to Alex, near tears. "We were supposed to go on a date tonight!"

"Why are you so torn up about this?" Alex asked, confused. Ever since her talk with Winn, she had gotten more confident in her decision to tell Maggie how she felt, and things had become a lot less awkward. They were still a little strained, but at least Laurel wasn't commenting on it anymore. Or, Alex noticed, teasing them about a relationship. "It's not as if you've never gone on dates before."

"This one was _different_," Kara sighed. "He was going to kiss me!"

Alex frowned. "Wait, you planned what date he was going to kiss you on? That's a little weird, Kar."

"No, no, no," Kara buried her head in a pillow, embarrassed. "That came out wrong. We hadn't exactly planned it, but... okay, so Oliver and I are going to have to kiss in Beauty in the Beast, right? And I mentioned to Mon-El that I didn't want Oliver to be my first kiss. And then later that night he asked me on a date. So I just feel like he probably was going to kiss me, and now he _can't_, and now Oliver is going to be first kiss which is weird and disappointing because it's not even going to be real."

"I see," Alex said, the situation clearer now. "Why does he have to kiss you on a date? Doesn't it just have to be before Friday?"

Kara sat up, not having thought about that before. "Oh," she said. "I suppose so. I mean, I just thought a date would be good because, you know, it's a date. And people kiss at the end of dates. He said he would kiss me in History class, which is when we had the conversation -before class, don't give me that look!- but he felt like it was forced and wasn't right."

"Hopefully you will just come across the right time before Friday," Alex said simply. "That's all you really need, right? Now it's going to be more of a surprise. You don't know when it's going to happen."

"Huh." Kara sat up even more, starting to smile. "Yeah, you're right!"

"Of course I'm right," Alex said with a grin. "I'm always right."

Then, like Sara and Thea, they fell into silence and watched the snow fall.

**Author's Note: Sorry, a little shorter! **

**Okay, so to be completely honest I didn't know I was going to make a snowstorm until I actually wrote the word snowstorm. XD Makes it a bit more interesting, right? Don't worry- I have the PERFECT idea for Karamel's first kiss! **


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: We back! Man, I am ****_so exited_**** to post some of the chapters I'm working on right now (like chapter 49 and stuff)... I think you all will like them!**

**But first, chapter 23 :)**

By Thursday, it was remarkable that the knowledge of Julian's possible move had spread only to Caitlin, Cisco and Barry (and most likely Iris because if Barry knew Iris knew).

Caitlin was still dejected by the whole idea. "I just can't believe it," she sighed, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. "So much ocean."

"I know," Julian agreed sadly. "I don't want to leave AV High. I like it here. I've got great friends and a great life and a great girlfriend."

"And your parents still haven't talked to you about it?" Caitlin asked.

"No," Julian sighed. "If they had, at least then I would have been able to try and talk them out of it. But they don't even know that I know. This had better not be their idea of a "great Christmas present"."

"Worst present _ever_," Cisco agreed, swinging himself up and over the back of the bench Caitlin and Julian were sitting on and joining the conversation partway through. "Remind me what we're talking about again?"

They both looked at him in a depressed way and Cisco raised his eyebrows. "Ah. Yes. The Move."

"I feel like you said that with a capital letter on the M," Julian said dejectedly. "But really it should be capital letters for the M, the O, the V, _and_ the E."

"Right, right," Cisco nodded. "The _MOVE_. It'd be a good acronym. Making... M-O... Making Old Vehicles... Eat?"

"That makes no sense," Caitlin said, laughing against her will. "Moving On Very Easily makes sense."

"But it's not true," Julian sighed, and the damp mood returned. "I don't want to leave."

"I don't want you to leave either, dude," Cisco sighed. "But sometimes life is life. That's what I learned from that whole thing with my grandparents and my mom making Dante and I go away for the weekends."

"Yeah, but you figured that out!" Julian protested. "You're only gone every other weekend, and I would be gone... all the time. Always. Forever. _Across the ocean_."

Caitlin let out a dry sob and curled into a ball on the bench. Julian put an arm around her shoulders and sighed once again.

They sat in silence until the bus arrived, wishing more than anything that Julian would just be able to _stay_.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

It was the night of the show.

Kara was jittery beyond jitteriness. Her hands were shaking and her foot was tapping, and she was trying very hard not to scratch underneath her brown wig. Oliver was pacing in front of her looking calm, though she could hear him muttering his lines under his breath.

"Kara!" a voice whispered.

Kara jumped and whipped around. "Mon-El!" she gasped, spotting her boyfriend peeking out around a corner. "What are you doing here? No one's allowed backstage besides the actors!"

"I snuck in," Mon-El said. "I wanted to wish you good luck tonight."

Kara smiled widely, pleased, then glanced at Oliver. "I'll be right back," she told him, before hurrying from her spot to the backstage hallway. Once they were alone, she turned back to Mon-El. "We have until they call for places."

He nodded. "I'm, uh, really sorry our date got canceled this weekend."

"Me two," Kara sighed. "But hey, it happens."

"Yeah," Mon-El swallowed, wiping his sweating palms on his jeans. It was a little hard to hear over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, and swallowed again, throat dry. "You... you look really pretty in that dress."

"Thanks," Kara whispered, her heart fluttering a little. She knew what was about to happen. She just knew it. "I like the yellow one better."

"Yeah?" Mon-El took a step forward, moving her wig aside a little so he could cup her face. "I bet it's beautiful."

"The costume department did a really good job," Kara murmured, eyes fluttering shut. She wasn't even quite sure what she was saying anymore.

"I bet they did," Mon-El replied, and kissed her.

_Perfection_.

When they broke apart, Kara shut her eyes and rested her forehead against Mon-El's shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered.

He laughed, giving her a hug. "You're welcome, I guess?"

"Now my first kiss will be actually someone I care about," Kara explained, pulling back and looking at him shyly.

"_Places, everyone, places please_," a voice instructed through the speaker.

Kara jumped and pulled back a little. "I have to go," she told Mon-El apologetically. "See you after the show?"

"You betcha," he smiled. "Good luck. Or... break a leg?"

Grinning widely and feeling almost giddy, Kara turned and raced to stage left, where she made her first entrance.

The play went remarkably well for their first (and last) time preforming in front of an audience. There were a few bumbled lines, but the audience was great and there was a standing ovation at the end. Granted, it was really just all the actors' parents, friends, and a few teachers, but it still felt good when you were standing onstage after bows and grinning out at a huge, clapping audience.

After the show, Kara, Barry, Cisco, Oliver and Winn all went out to the meet and greet together. They were buzzing from the success of the last hour and a half, and were met with their similarly beaming "fans."

"Barry!" Iris squealed. She had gone against the doctor's orders (she was set to go back to school on Monday, so it wasn't _that_ big of a deal) and come to the show, and now burst through the crowd and attacked Barry with a hug. "You did so amazing."

"Iris?" Barry looked shocked. He hadn't thought she would be able to come. "What are you doing here?! You should be in bed!"

"I couldn't miss your play," Iris told him, giving him a long kiss and then hugging him again. "And I'm _so_ glad I came; you did amazing. All of you did."

"Thanks, Iris," Kara smiled. She was tucked under Mon-El's arm, both of them looking very happy. "I'm glad you got to come."

Felicity pushed her way through the throng of audience members and popped into their little circle. "Hey, guys!" she greeted, smiling shyly at Oliver. "You did really good."

"Thanks," Oliver mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

When the two of them were not being looked at, Felicity walked over and kissed his cheek. "I may be requesting you to sing for me now. Just saying."

Oliver laughed, turning a bit red. "For you, maybe."

Winn and Cisco, the only two that now didn't have a female tucked into their side, fist bumped. "Bachelors forever, dude," Cisco muttered. "We don't need no ladies to rock the stage."

"You know that's right," Winn agreed, before Kara hugged him, too.

Caitlin and Julian were the next to find him. "Great job, everyone," Caitlin said after giving Cisco a hug. "I wish they did more than one show- I would go see it again."

"Well, when we are all famous on Broadway you can come see our shows," Winn said, grinning.

"Dude, I'm not going on Broadway," Cisco winced. "If I'm acting, it's gonna be for music videos or television shows."

"Music videos?" Felicity frowned. "People aspire to be in _music videos_?"

Winn shrugged. "Sure. Taylor Swift asks me to feature and I am _there_."

There was a long silence. Iris giggled. "Winn... you like Taylor Swift?"

"Don't get him started," Kara muttered, but it was too late.

"_Like_ Taylor Swift?!" Winn asked incredulously. "Are you kidding? She's a song writing, music producing _genius_! I know that nobody likes Reputation but it is a work of art! Those lyrics? And music? She's trying all these new things and-"

"Winn. Breath," Kara said firmly. She shook her head at Iris. "I told you not to get him started."

"I will now know for future," Iris murmured, looking like she wanted to laugh but didn't want to hurt Winn's feelings. "Hey, I don't mind Reputation. I can get into a little Delicate every once and awhile."

"Exactly. Exactly!" Winn threw his hands in the air and huffed. "Now, who's coming over for a post-performance celebration?"

About seven phones were suddenly in the open, and parents were quickly called, texted, or messaged in some other way. Then, availability and permission confirmed, the six teenagers followed Winn through the crowd and out of school.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"So?" Alex asked when Kara got home at around 10:30, buzzing and smiling and still finding the occasional bobby pin in her hair from her wig.

"So...?" Kara echoed, unsure of what her sister meant.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that 'so'."

"What 'so'?"

"That 'I don't know what you're talking about' so," Alex elaborated. "Now, spill. Was Oliver Queen your first kiss or what?"

Kara got a positively dreamy look in her eyes and Alex leapt to her feet. "Oookay, forget I asked. I don't think I want to know."

"_Alex_," Kara groaned. "No, Oliver Queen wasn't my first kiss. Mon-El snuck backstage and... you know... took care of that."

She was starting to look moony again so Alex coughed loudly. "So... did you enjoyed your first kiss? Good experience? Worth the wait?"

"OMG _yes_," Kara sighed. "It was so amazing. Alex... how do you know when you're in love?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Alex cried, nearly choking on her own spit. "You think you're in love with Mon-El?!"

"I don't know!" Kara threw up her hands. "That's why I asked: how do you know?"

Alex shook her head. "I am _not_ the person to ask. I dated Max for three weeks before discovering that I wasn't bisexual and was just plain lesbian, after which I had the grand total of _zero_ girlfriends. I've never fallen in love, and I doubt I ever will."

"Of course you will, Alex. Eventually, anyway," Kara reassuring her. "Look, I know things didn't work out with Maggie, but that doesn't mean that you won't ever find someone to fall in love with."

Alex shrugged, getting a devious look in her eyes. "Yeah, you might be right. That Sara Lance is pretty cute."

Kara's jaw dropped.

There was a long silence.

"Kara. Kidding." Alex rolled her eyes, laughing a little. "I'm not dating my best friends little sister. _Especially_ because she's dating Leonard Snart."

"Oh, okay," Kara mumbled. "Whew."

"Anyway..." Alex continued. "My point is that when it comes to love, I have no idea how to tell if you're in it, or what it feels like, or anything like that. Why don't you ask... I dunno... Caitlin or someone?"

"Alex, I only know Caitlin a little bit," Kara sighed. "Not enough to ask her about... _love_ and stuff. That's what sister are supposed to be for!"

"Well excuse me for not being particularly interested in that kind of stuff," Alex grumbled.

"Aleeeex..." Kara groaned. "That's not what this is about. I'll just figure it out some other way, forget it."

She sighed again and walked out of the kitchen, toward her room. Alex shook her head, flopping onto the living room's couch and texting Laurel.

_'__Do you think I'm a lame sister?'_

Almost immediately, her phone buzzed and Laurel's face popped onto the screen. Alex accepted the call and wandered outside, not wanting Kara to overhear their conversation.

"Where is this coming from?" Laurel demanded as soon as Alex greeted her. "Alex, you're a great sister! Almost as good as me."

Alex laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess. It's just some things Kara said. About how older sisters should be the ones to know about love, and how I can't help her with that. And you know, she's right. I haven't had a long term, working dating relationship _ever_. How can I help Kara out when she has questions when I don't even know the answers myself?"

"Alex, you're not expected to know everything," Laurel responded. "You can talk to Kara about loads of older sister stuff. I mean, come on. You have a perfectly good, functioning mother. If Kara is _really_ confused or worried about not knowing exactly what love is and what to do, she can just ask her."

Alex sighed. "I guess so," she agreed. "Sometimes I just wonder if I'm doing something wrong. After that whole thing with Maggie... like, she was _perfect_ for me, you know? Almost every single thing about her was perfect for me. What if I never find someone better?"

"You will, Alex," Laurel told her. "Of course you will! You and I, and Maggie, too... we're all graduating this year. You've already gotten into the college of your dreams. You already have the next four plus years of your life all planned out. Who's to say that another girl won't come along during those plans, someone that is even _better_ for you than Maggie?"

Alex shrugged. Laurel must have taken her silence as a disagreement, because she sighed. "I refuse to believe that Maggie is the last amazing person you will ever meet, Alex."

"I know that!" Alex protested. "I just feel like... You know how people are always telling you not to rush things or jump into dating to early? And my mom is always saying that high school relationships never last so they're not worth it. And I get that, I do. I really do. Most days, high school relationships seem pointless and like they'd take up too much time anyway, but then on nights like tonight I _want_ to rush into it, you know? I want to jump into things _now_, I don't want to wait until college or even after that! I want to have a girlfriend and I want to kiss someone and fall in love and everything. And I really doubt that I'm going to meet anyone else this year that is as good for me as Maggie was!"

It was silent on the other end of the line for a moment. "Yeah," Laurel said finally. "Yeah, I get that."

They went quiet, Alex's eyes trailing after a car that drove down her street, much too fast for a neighborhood. She took a seat on the second step leading up to her house, propping her head up with the heal of her hand.

"Do you ever think Maggie is uncomfortable around me?" she asked softly. "If I say something or do something... do you think she totally overthinks it? Because I know if I knew someone had an unrequited crush on me, I would be overthinking everything they did around me, trying to figure out if they did it because they like me or because they wanted to."

"I honestly don't know, Alex," Laurel responded. "Maggie and I haven't talked much about you or your feelings. I think you were... _are_... closer to her than I am. We don't really talk alone much, or about you or relationships at all. If I need to talk about boys, I go to Sara. And then if she doesn't know what to do or who likes who or something, she goes to Thea and Iris." She let out a short laugh. "Not that I've had any boys to like recently."

"Since Oliver, huh?" Alex said.

"Yeah, basically," Laurel agreed. "And, while that was a rare situation that a friendship-turned-dating-turned-breakup actually worked out okay in the end, it kind of put me off of relationships. Next thing I know, we're in our Senior year. Unless some boy miraculously comes along who happens to be going to the same college I am and is everything I've ever wanted, what's the point of starting dating someone?"

"You _do_ have, like, half a year," Alex reminded her. "And long distance relationships are possible. Like, we have texting and FaceTime and all of that now."

"I know, I know," Laurel laughed. "Gosh, you sound like my mother. She thinks that it'd be healthy for me to get into a 'functional dating relationship'. And yeah, while having a boyfriend could be fun, I don't really know who I would be dating. Honestly... who do you know at our school that I have any romantic interest or who has any interest in me?"

Alex was silent for a moment, before she laughed. "Yeah, I really have no idea. I think half our grade is scared of you so that kind of cuts down on options."

"Girl, forget half our grade," Laurel countered. "More like half our _school_. I think when you and Maggie told Thea you were witches at Homecoming she took it seriously and spread it around to the entire school."

Alex burst into giggles. "Thanks, Laurel," she said after a moment. "Calling you was exactly what I needed to cheer me up tonight."

"Anytime," Laurel reassured her. "You need me, I'm here."

After they had hung up on each other, Alex leaned back against the steps and smiled. She may not have a girlfriend, but her girl friend was exactly what she wanted.

**Author's Note: Sorry, a little on the short side. Hopefully I can come up with more things for this story... After New Years things will get exciting again because they'll be new students...**

**No spoilers, though! You guys will see :D **


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: AHHHHH THIS IS NOW THE LONGEST FANFICTION (chapter wise) I'VE EVER WRITTEN! **

**OTHER THAN DRABBLE SERIES. BECAUSE THE BRAINIAC AND THE DREAMER IS LONGER. **

Today was the day.

Thea drew in a deep breath as she stared in the mirror, hairbrush in hand. Her hair, which now reached nearly halfway down her back, was about to be brushed for the last time.

Well, okay, that was a bit dramatic. It was about to be brushed for the last time at that current, outrageously long, length, because today was the day that Thea got her haircut.

And of course today, of all days, her hair had to be looking especially good. She sighed heavily, knowing that in the end she would be happy with the way her hair looked, and pasted on a smile for the before part of her before-and-after selfies of her haircut. Something to put on her Instagram story today, she supposed.

"Thea!" Moria Queen, Thea's mother, called from downstairs. "We need to get going!"

"Coming, mom!" Thea sighed, tearing her hairbrush through her hair and forgetting to be ceremonious about it.

She shoved on her pink flats, stuffed her phone into her pocket, and ran downstairs.

After about a fifteen minute drive, Moria pulled out in front of Lady Clippers Hair Salon. Thea got out of the car and whipped around to face her mother. "I don't think I can do it," she moaned. "Maybe I should just do a trim? Cut the dead ends?"

"Thea Queen, I did not drive you to a hair salon just to get your dead ends cut off," Moria responded, used, by now, to Thea's last-second cold feet with her haircuts. "Every time you get a haircut, you tell me to remind you how much you love having short hair. It's a whole lot easier, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Thea took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Okay, let's go in before I change my mind."

Moria rolled her eyes and led the way inside Lady Clippers.

The interior was cute, small and themed with white and light blue and pink. There were white chairs with pale blue pillows for waiting costumers on one side of the room, while the other held a white-painted wooden desk for the hairstylist to sit behind. The walls were white, with two thick, artistic stripes of blue and pink going around the bottom. If Thea ever owned a hair salon (which wasn't exactly one of her plans) it would look like this, right down to the blue and pink glass bubble lamps scattered around the room.

"Mrs. Queen, Thea," Amanda Waller, the hairstylist in that morning, greeted with a reserved smile. She was a fairly reserved woman, just as a whole, but she had a solid grasp of hair and what looked good on who and Thea liked her.

"Good morning, Ms. Waller," Moria greeted, equally as reserved. "I called about Thea's haircut last week?"

"Of course." Amanda got to her feet and came around the desk. "What are you thinking of doing with your hair today, Thea?"

"Short," Thea blurted, before she lost the nerve. "Like, shoulder length."

Amanda sized her up and nodded. "Layers?"

"Yes, please."

Amanda brought Thea over to the chair and leaned her head back into a ceramic bowl to wash her hair. The process started, and when Thea stood up again, her hair was shoulder length and blown dry. She let out a squeal. "Oh, mom, look at it! It's so _cute_!"

"I knew you'd like it," Moria agreed, standing up to pay.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Waller," Thea gushed, unable to turn away from the mirror. "Oh just wait until Roy sees this. I hope he likes it."

"I'm sure he will, honey," Moria said distractedly. "Thank you, Ms. Waller. Have a nice day."

"You as well." Amanda sat down and watched as mother and daughter left the store.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

When Thea went back to school on Monday, two days before Christmas vacation started, everyone was shocked.

"OH MY GOD THEA!" Iris cried, running across the blacktop and nearly getting hit by a car in the process. "Your hair your hair your _hair_!"

"I know!" Thea squealed, grabbing her hands. "Isn't it amazing?! I literally took a shower in _seven minutes_ this morning. This is the best haircut ever!"

"You say that ever time," Sara said, walking up behind them and rolling her eyes. "I do like it though. It's cute."

"Just _wait_ until Roy sees you!" Iris continued, eyeing Thea from all angles. "OMG, you had better make sure I'm there to see his reaction."

"Iris, chill," Sara told her friend. "Don't get Thea's hopes up. You know how Roy is... he doesn't really get excited about things."

"Like you, apparently," Iris huffed.

"Okay, ladies, calm down," Thea said quickly, before an argument could start. "I didn't get this haircut for Roy Harper to see, contrary to popular belief. Even if he thinks I look like I taped a bowl to my head, _I_ like this hair."

Thea got quite a few comments on her hair that morning. Most kids in school knew her, and so as she walked down the halls there were whispers and gasps and call of, "Nice haircut!"

It made sense. Thea had gotten nearly a foot cut off of her hair. It looked a bit different.

At lunch, Roy approached the table. He looked rather uncomfortable, because even though he had come to the girls' table multiple times before, eyes still followed his progress from all over the cafeteria.

"Hi, Thea," he mumbled. "Did you do something different with your hair?"

Thea burst into giggles. Iris face-palmed. Sara shrugged. "Told you. Boys don't care about these things."

Roy looked even more awkward. "Did you... not? It just looks different... did you get it cut or something?"

Thea held out her hand for a high-five and, confused, he accepted it. "Nailed it in one, Roy," she grinned. "Ten inches off, thank you very much."

"Girl, ten inches?" Iris gaped. "I thought you were only doing seven?"

"I changed my mind," Thea shrugged.

Roy shifted in front of them. "I... um... I like it. It looks... nice. Cute."

"Thanks," Thea beamed.

Sara laughed. "Nice move, Roy. She'll be glowing for weeks now and you won't even have to do a thing."

"Right," Roy agreed, pointing a finger gun at Sara and backing up. "See you around, girls."

As soon as he got far enough away, Thea turned around. "See?" Iris cried. "I _knew_ he'd say something. OMG, that was was so _cute_. Roy Harper has been a changed man since he met you, Thea."

"Oh, stop," Thea giggled, rolling her eyes. "Roy is a good guy, deep down, he just needed a feminine touch to bring it out. Just like with Sara and Leonard."

Sara smirked. "I _am_ a pretty good influence on him, aren't I?"

"And a modest one, too," Thea added sarcastically.

"Hey, you said it!" Sara protested.

"No I did not!" Thea argued.

The bell rang, making them all groan. "Time for class, girls," Iris sighed, standing up and stuffing her only half-eaten lunch into her bag. "Let's worry about our influential natures another day."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"So, Caitlin, you turn 17 tomorrow, huh?" Barry mentioned casually.

Caitlin glanced up from her chemistry text book, her hair falling into her face until she let out a puff of air and blew it away. "Well, yes, I suppose I am."

Cisco blinked. "Oh shoot," he muttered. "Oh shoot, that's tomorrow?"

"I don't need a present, Cisco," Caitlin laughed. "If that's what you're worried about."

"Yeah, but 17 is _big_, Cait," Cisco complained. "I mean it's not 16 or anything but it feels big to me. You need a gift."

Barry smirked. "Just to pressure you a little more... I got her a gift."

"Barry," Caitlin sighed, shaking her head. "You did _not_ need to get me a gift."

He shrugged. "You made me that cute card when I turned 16; it's only fair."

"Yeah, but I don't want you boys spending money on me," Caitlin said. "I didn't have to pay a cent for that card... well, I guess I had to buy the colored pencils but it's not as if I did that solely for the purpose of making your card."

Cisco nudged Barry in the ribs, determined to re-stake his claim as best-bestie. "She got me a gift..." he said in a sing-song voice.

"Cisco!" Caitlin gasped, turning dark red. "You aren't supposed to tell him! Gosh, Barry, that probably seems really hurtful and I'm super sorry... it's just, you know, Cisco's my best friend and everything- not that he's better than you in any way, you're super awesome, too! I've just known him since second grade and everything and-"

"Cait, really, it's fine." Barry and Cisco were both laughing now and Caitlin huffed, sitting back. "I do not need a birthday gift."

"Well, Caitlin does," Cisco sighed. "And so we're are back at my dilemma."

"You know what I say every year, Cisco," Caitlin reminded him. "Donate to the medical cause of your choice in my name. Gifts are for Christmas."

"But that's so _boring_-"

"Not to the people you're helping," Caitlin argued. "So many hospitals would be really happy to get even a small donation. I'm not saying you have to give like thirty dollars but you don't need to _buy_ me anything. Wait until Christmas."

"But it's boring for _me_," Cisco elaborated. He let out a sigh. "Ah well. I'll think of something."

"Girls are so much easier to shop for than boys, anyway," Caitlin reminded him helpfully.

"Yeah, but you don't wear makeup!"

"Cisco Ramon." Caitlin gave Cisco a look. "One: There are more things that interest the average girl than makeup. Two: Never get a girl makeup for a birthday gift! Unless you know the exact brand she uses, the products she likes, and the items she already has. No one needs two of the same foundations or lipsticks. Three: I actually _do_ wear makeup, just not a lot, and just not kinds you would notice."

Barry tilted his head. "Huh. I always wondered why you never look tired in the morning."

"The wonders of concealer, boys," Caitlin laughed. "It truly is a lifesaver some days."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Caitlin woke up on her 17th birthday and found nothing much had changed. Her alarm still went off much too early, she had the same clothes in her closet and the same moisturizer and light makeup routine. Her hair curled the same and she still remembered to unplug the bathroom night light.

There _was_ one difference. When she walked down the stairs to the kitchen, she found her mother waiting for her.

Usually, by that point in the morning, Dr. Carla Snow was up in her room, gathering her things to head off to work. Today, on the other hand, she was sitting at the kitchen table with a small wrapped box in front of her.

"Happy birthday, Caitlin," Carla said warmly, getting up and hugging her daughter.

Caitlin smiled, pleasantly surprised, and Carla handed her her gift and a card. Inside the envelope was a white card with a clean, neat, _Happy Birthday_ in calligraphy on the front. On the inside there was a note in her mother's handwriting.

_Dear Caitlin,_

_Most brilliant minds (myself included) forget how to be good at anything other than their craft. You, however, combine brilliance, grace and beauty all into human form. I am so incredibly proud to be your mother. Happy birthday, and keep showing an example that the rest of the world can try to follow._

_Much love,_

_Mom_

Caitlin eyes welled unexpectedly. "Thank you," she whispered, unused to such kind words from her mother.

"Open the gift," Dr. Snow urged, a bit uncomfortable with all the sentiment.

Caitlin neatly pulled off the wrapping paper, somehow managing not to rip it, and opened up the jewelry box. Inside was a silver necklace with the letters S, T, E and M dangling off of it.

"STEM," Carla said. "Science, technology, engineering and math."

Caitlin nodded, practically beaming. "I love it," she said. "I love it so much. Thank you, mom."

She hugged her mother tightly, and then handed her the necklace so she could put it on.

Felicity Smoak was the first person to comment on the necklace. "Oh, _my gosh_," she gushed. "I love that so much. Where did you get it?"

"My mom got it for me for my birthday," Caitlin beamed. "Thank you!"

"I need this necklace in my life," Felicity said approvingly. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thanks," Caitlin laughed. "Now we are in the world of seventeen year olds together."

Felicity grinned, and a second later, Cisco popped over her shoulder. "Aww, look at you, Caitlin. All growed up."

"Nice grammars, Cisco," Felicity snickered, patting his shoulder. "I'm gonna head to my locker, 'kay? See you guys in class."

Julian came up behind Caitlin and wrapped his arms around her waist. She jumped, before laughing a little. "Good morning, Julian."

"Morning, Caitlin," he said, sweetly kissing her cheek. "Happy Birthday. I _do_ have a gift for you- I'm just going to have my mom bring it when she comes to pick me up so you don't have to, like, carry it around all day."

"No worries," Caitlin assured him. She raised an eyebrow at Cisco. "Would you stop fangirling? It's not as if he's never been sweet before."

Cisco blushed. "I am not _fangirling. _Even though you guys are totally my OTP."

They gave him blank looks. "OT...P?" Julian asked, confused.

"I'll explain another time," Cisco said, thinking that five minutes before homeroom wasn't the time to start a class Cisco liked to call 'Introduction to the Language of Shipping'. "And, Caitlin, while we are on the topic, I put my gift in my locker so you could have it all day."

"I thought you didn't have a gift?" Caitlin reminded him, laughing, as he rooted through his incredibly messy locker and tugged out a clumsily wrapped box.

Caitlin smiled and took it from him. "Thanks, Cisco," she said, unwrapping the box. Cisco took the wrapping paper back and stuffed it back in his locker. It would probably remain there until the end of the school year. Possibly longer.

Caitlin opened up the box. Inside their was a pin with the words, _'World's Best Friend'_ painted on it. There was a note, too:

_'__Happy Birthday, Caitlin! Thanks for being the World's Best Friend. (BTW I also donated to the SPCA so that this adorable cat can have food for the next four months. I know you really want a cat and your mom won't let you get one, so maybe it's the next best thing?) Love, Cisco'_

"Oh, _Cisco_," Caitlin murmured, tearing up. She hugged her friend tightly. "Thank you."

"Love ya," Cisco grinned.

"Love you, too," Caitlin laughed, attaching the pin to her sweater. "And I love this."

The bell rang. Caitlin, Julian and Cisco grabbed their bags and headed off toward homeroom.

Later, after school had ended, Julian held true to his word and approached Caitlin with a gift bag. "No waste," he explained. "That's why I didn't wrap it."

"You know me well," Caitlin grinned, opening up the bag.

"So, uh, I know it's a little cliché," Julian said, a bit embarrassed as Caitlin pulled out a jewelry box and opened it to find a bracelet. "But I wasn't really sure what else to do, so I went to the store and got a bunch of charms that I though represented you." He paused, nervous. "Is it weird?"

"No, Julian, it's perfect," Caitlin smiled, inspecting the bracelet. It had five different charms on it: a beaker, like one that would be used in Chemistry class; a heart; a C; a metal square with engraved plus, minus, division and multiplication symbols; and a 17.

"Oh, good, I'm glad you like it," Julian said, letting out a heavy sigh of relief. "It's your first birthday since we've been dating and I've kind of been stressing about perfect gifts and all that."

"There is _no _need for you to stress about a gift," Caitlin told him seriously, giving him a look. "I don't like you for your money or your expensive gifts, I like you because you are sweet and special and _you_. Even if you got me a pair of too-small socks, that opinion wouldn't change."

Julian nodded, blushing and staring at his toes. "Alright," he muttered. "Duly noted."

As promised, Barry also got Caitlin a gift. He caught her when she was waiting for the bus, right before taking Iris home. "Hey, Cait! Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, Barry," Caitlin said, accepting his hug.

He tossed her a wrapped box, unable to keep the grin off of his face.

"Barry, you didn't have to-"

"Open it. You will see. Just open it."

Inside was a small set of colored pencils and a blank card. There was a sticky note inside:

_Now you haven't spent a single cent on me, not even for the colored pencils and the card. Happy Birthday! -Barry_

"Thank you, Barry," Caitlin laughed, shaking her head. "It's absolutely perfect."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Alright, ladies," Iris said bracingly as she faced Thea and Sara. "We are headed off to Christmas Break. What do we have for plans?"

"We have to get hot chocolate and walk around downtown at _least_ once," Thea stated. "And bring candy canes around with us. I've heard that mint makes boys fall in love," she added dreamily.

"We all have boyfriends," Sara said flatly. "Well... Iris and I have boyfriends. You... kinda of have a boyfriend?"

"I have a boyfriend!" Thea protested.

"Well-"

"So, boy talk is definitely on the menu, along with hot chocolate and candy canes," Iris intervened quickly. "We should also totally go sledding. Maybe invite Barry and his study group, too?"

"Good for me," Sara said. "I'm coming back from my Mom's the day after Christmas. And then my grandparents are coming over for two days after that- not that I still can't go do something that day."

"We'll find a time," Iris assured her. "Even if it's the day before we go back to school."

"Well, actually," Thea started. "I'm-"

"_We'll find a time_," Iris repeated, laughing. "Now I gotta scoot. Barry was just going to give Caitlin her birthday gift and then we were going to head home."

Thea's eyes lit up. "He gave her a birthday gift?! That is so _cute_! Honestly, if you two weren't dating, I would _totally_ ship it."

"You ship it anyway," Sara snorted. "You just ship WestAllen more."

Iris gave them both annoyed looks. "Well, Barry Allen is _my_ boyfriend, and Caitlin Snow is in a committed relationship. The two of them aren't getting together, even if they _were_ interested in each other."

"Of course," Thea said quickly, not wanting to offend her friend. "Of course not. I was kidding, Iris. Barry is a very sweet boy and I'm sure he would give a gift to anyone. Heck- it's no different than him giving a gift to Cisco! I-"

"I get it, Thea," Iris sighed. "See you two later."

She turned and jogged off across the blacktop, and the other two saw Barry waving at her from his car. Thea gave Sara a _look_. "The fact that I might _kind of _ship Barry and Caitlin together was supposed to stay between you and me."

" 'Kind of'?" Sara scoffed. "You literally came up with the ship name Snowbarry. Obviously you had put some thought into it. Like a lot of thought."

"I'm good at coming up with ship names!" Thea protested. "And I like doing it." She huffed, rolling her eyes. "Look, I'm going to head home."

"Uh huh," Sara said, shaking her head and watching as Thea stomped off. "See you later."

What a great way to start Christmas vacation- all three off them annoyed at each other. Sara sighed.

Maybe it was good that they were going to be away from school (and each other) for awhile. They needed a break.

**Author's Note: I tryyyyy not to have too much friend-drama in my story... but hey, I have to make this at least a ****_little_**** realistic. **

**I know it's not at all realistic. But who wants a fanfiction to be realistic?**

**OKAY YOU SNOWBARRY FANATICS! Considering they were kind of a central duo in this chapter I feel like this is a good time to say: ****_The review box below is not the place to ask me when I will be updating Snowbarry Season 4._**

**Also, I don't know if I'm going to update it ever again. We'll see. But if you want to leave a review, talk about ****_this story_****. Don't ask about my updating schedule, please.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: Halfway to 50!**

**I guess that's one way to look at it XD**

Christmas break was _great_. Alex smiled lazily as she stared up at the ceiling, the clock ticking past 10:00 and steadily off into the afternoon. She had no school, no homework (at least until she got the motivation to get it done before the end of break), no commitments, and no social obligations what-so-ever.

_Great_.

It was about a half hour later when Alex finally pulled herself out of her warm, cozy bed and down stairs. Eliza Danvers was sitting at her computer in her pajamas, a mug of coffee in her hand. She worked as a science teacher in AV middle school, so Winter break was a time off for her, too. Kara was on the couch with a plate of waffles, watching Nickelodeon.

"Hey," Alex said, patting her head as she walked by.

"Morning, Alex," Kara mumbled, still seeming half-asleep. She wasn't particularly involved in the show on television, Instagram up on her phone. As she passed, Alex saw a text from Mon-El pop up. Kara smiled unconsciously as she switched over to her texts and Alex shook her head, trying not to be jealous.

"Good morning, honey," Eliza said as Alex gave her a hug. "How did you sleep?"

"Long," Alex said, smiling in a self-satisfied way. "It was lovely."

She followed Kara's example and made herself a couple of waffles and peanut butter before joining her sister on the couch.

"Checked the weather this morning," Kara commented, licking syrup off of her fingers. "It's supposed to snow tomorrow?"

"Mm, what was the percentage?"

Kara shrugged. "No idea. My weather app only shows that for 24 hours."

Alex snorted and pulled out her own phone. The chance of snow was weak- less than 50%- but it was still something.

"I hope there's not a lot," Alex muttered, tugging the blanket off of the top of the couch and wrapping up in it. "I don't like the cold."

"I like snow," Kara said, glancing out the window. "I like spring better though."

Alex shook her head. "That's just because you're birthday's in April."

"No!" Kara protested. "I would like it even if my birthday wasn't in April. You don't like winter and your birthdays in January- oh _boy_, you're turning 18 soon. That's terrifying."

Alex laughed. "Yeah, I guess I am," she said, before adding bitterly: "18 and never been kissed."

"Aw, Alex," Kara hummed. "You have an entire month. There's always time."

Alex gave her a look. "Yeah. Sure."

As usual, her thoughts turned to Maggie. Alex sighed, taking an aggressive bite of her waffle and trying to focus on the show playing in front of her. She was honestly getting sick of the weighty, loss like feeling that always came with Maggie. Things were pretty normal between the two of them now. They had been smoothed over with help from Laurel and constant avoiding and/or ignoring the topic of what had happened.

But Alex couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something. It was Christmas vacation, she was spending it with her amazing, loving family. The day after Christmas she, Kara, Laurel and Sara were all going out to lunch. She had a great family, great friends...

But there was a hole. There was this one gap that just couldn't be filled until.. well, Alex didn't quite know. Until she found the right one? Until she got a girlfriend? Until she got _Maggie?_

"Hey, Alex, what's wrong?" Kara asked, jutting her chin out at her sister. "You're looking really sad."

"Nothing," Alex muttered, taking another aggressive bite of her waffle. "Just thinking about... stuff."

Kara shrugged, and didn't press. Alex shoved Maggie out of her head and focused on her breakfast.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Okay, so I need to run an idea by you," Sara started as she walked into Laurel's room without knocking.

Laurel looked up from her computer. "Good morning."

"Hi." Sara sat down on the floor. "How's it going?"

"It's going fine." Laurel closed the computer and sat back. "What's your idea?"

"Soooo... I know it's a little bit in advance," Sara said. "But I was _thinking_ that I would invite Leonard to our sort-of-annual Winter party."

"What're you talking about?" Laurel scoffed. "It's _totally_ annual."

Sara rolled her eyes. "That's all you got out of that? Anyway, we've only been doing it for, like, 6 years, and we missed a year. Which is why I said _sort-of-annual_, instead of _annual_, or _not-at-all-annual_."

"Fair, fair," Laurel agreed.

There was silence.

"So what do you think?" Sara pressed. "About my... _idea_."

"To invite Leonard?" Laurel asked, shrugging. "I dunno. I think that it's fine."

Sara lay back with a groan. "Well, thanks, Oh-So-Wise-Sister-Mine," she grumbled.

"What, did you want me to tell you not to invite him?" Laurel peered at her, confused. "Didn't you want me to agree?"

"I just wanted an _opinion_," Sara explained. "Because I've never had a serious boyfriend before... or a boyfriend in general... And it's not like I ever invited Nyssa to the Winter party. _But_, I thought it could be fun to invite Leonard considering we didn't go to homecoming together."

"Because he showed you up," Laurel reminded her flatly.

"Well, yes, because he showed me up," Sara agreed. "And I also might have kind of thought that it would be a good time to tell Dad I have a boyfriend and that we are actually serious and that he's amazing and gorgeous and kind and sweet and basically anything I've ever wanted and that-"

"Oookay, Sara, slow down," Laurel told her. "Maybe tell Dad about him _before_ he shows up at our house? Just in case Dad reacts... unfavorably?"

"Gee, thanks for your vote of confidence," Sara huffed. "_Fine_, when it gets closer to the party I'll ask Dad if I can have him as my plus-1, and tell him he's my boyfriend. Who are you bringing this year?"

Laurel flopped back on her bed and stared contemplatively at the ceiling. "Man, I really don't know," she said. "Alex and Maggie will most likely end up going to Winter Formal together-"

"You think?" Sara asked, shocked. She, of course, had heard all about Alex and Maggie's secret (and secretly mutual) pining over each other. It was a big mess of romantic drama that Sara thought was hilarious and would never, _ever_, want to happen to her. She liked the way her and Leonard's relationship worked: Mostly simple, with brief bouts of necessary communication and a lot of tease-flirting and playful shoving.

"Oh, yes," Laurel nodded. "If, of course, Maggie gets her act together. Point being, I don't really have anyone to bring. See, when Dad started this whole 'Winter Party' it was pretty much for the sole purpose of not having us go to Winter Formal when we were older. But now the problem is that _everyone else_ goes to Winter Formal, so we have no one to bring."

"Sucks for you," Sara snickered unsympathetically. "Leonard doesn't like dances. I'm still asking him to prom."

Laurel laughed outright. "I think that's _his_ job."

"Pah, how old fashioned are you?" Sara scoffed. "You think he's gotta do all the work? He asked me on the first date, and to be his girlfriend, and all of that kind of necessary sappy romantic stuff. And I'm sure, _if he values his life_, he will give me something very cute for my birthday."

Laurel snorted. "I just love this respectful, appreciative relationship you two have going on."

"I know, right?" Sara grinned. "Me too. It's just lovely."

She stood up. "Welp, thanks for the help, knowledge, and encouragement. I'm going to go watch some Psych."

Laurel gave her an affronted look. "Not without me, you're not!"

Sara grinned, already backing out of the door. "First one to unlock the iPad gets to pick the episode!"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this," Felicity said, steadying herself with her ski poles and giving Oliver a nervous look. "If I break my leg before Christmas I blame you."

"If you break your leg I will be your personal nurse until it heals," Oliver assured her with a charming wink and smile combo that made Felicity start melting and oozing all over the ground.

John Diggle cleared his throat. "If I had known you two would be shamelessly flirting this entire time I wouldn't have suggested bringing Felicity along."

"Oh, so the truth's out!" Felicity giggled. "It was _John_ who wanted me here, not you, Oliver."

"But me asking convinced you to come," Oliver countered. "That's gotta count for something."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Felicity said agreeably, exchanging smirks with John.

They started off down the hill. Felicity made it about halfway before her skis stuck and she tumbled forward. Her glasses fell off her face and she landed with a thump and an "oomph" in the snow.

Then the panic set in. "Glasses, glasses, shoot shoot shoot, where are my glasses?!" Felicity muttered, patting around desperately at the blurred snow. One of her skis jammed into the snow in the process and Felicity landed back on her stomach.

Her eyes welled with tears. She couldn't see anything without her glasses, and she could find her glasses without being able to see anything, and without being able to see anything she wouldn't be able to get down the hill to get help with finding her glasses.

She was stuck, halfway down the ski slope, unable to see, without a single person she knew around.

"Felicity?"

"Oliver?" Felicity gasped, head shooting upward, before she realized that that hadn't sounded at all like Oliver.

"No, it's Ray," the voice continued, and a tall, blurry form came towards her. "Hello!"

"Oh! Ray!" Felicity squeaked, pushing herself out of the snow. She felt a flush of embarrassment creeping across her cheeks because of course it had to be _Ray_ to show up and see her like this. But hey, he was here, and she might as well use him. "Just first- before we talk- I lost my glasses in the snow and I have no idea where they are. I mean, they could be buried by now and I really can't see without them-"

A cold piece of metal landed on her nose and Felicity blinked as the world came back into focus. "Found them," Ray said, smiling proudly.

Felicity let out an enormous sigh of relief. "Thank you so much," she breathed, sitting back. "Thank you _so_ much."

"You're welcome, and you're welcome again," Ray said with a grin, getting to his feet. He extended his hand and Felicity took it gratefully, letting him help her up.

"Felicity?!" a voice called from the top of the hill.

Felicity looked up. "Oliver!"

Oliver came skiing down the hill, snow flying as he skidded to a stop in front of them. "What happened? Are you alright?" He caught sight of Ray. "Who's this?"

"This is Ray Palmer," Felicity told him. "He's in my grade at school... his dad's the sports medic." She decided not to mention that they had dated back in middle school because Ray wasn't the type to label as an "ex-boyfriend".

"Ohh...?" Oliver said, still looking awkwardly unsure. "Um, yeah! Yeah, I remember Ray." He turned his attention back to Felicity. "What happened? You didn't come down the hill with Dig and I so I went back up to go look for you." He caught sight of her red eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Felicity said quickly. "My glasses just fell off when I fell, and I kind of started freaking out. But it's alright- Ray found them. We're all good."

"I see..." Oliver said, sizing Ray up. "Well. Thank you for helping her."

John Diggle came skiing down the hill. He stopped behind Oliver. "There you are, Felicity," he said, letting out a breath. "We we're a little worried."

"Sorry, John," Felicity winced. "I lost my glasses in the snow."

"Why don't we head down the hill and go get some hot chocolate?" Oliver suggested.

"_Yum_, yes please," Felicity exclaimed. A couple seconds later she glanced awkwardly over at Ray. "Oh... uh... do you want to come?"

"Oh, no, it's alright," beamed Ray, much to everyone's secret relief. "I'm going to keep skiing. See you later, guys! Merry Christmas!"

He skied off down the hill and Felicity watched him go, smiling. Oliver huffed, a little disappointed that he hadn't been the one to find Felicity's glasses and help her when she needed it. "Alright, shall we? We'll make sure we stay with you this time, just in case you fall again."

Felicity nodded, and the three of them followed Ray down the slope.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

_Sara Lance named the conversation _"Double Date Squad"

_Thea: Wow what a name_

_Sara: IKR isn't it great_

_Leonard: It's terrible._

_Sara: Okay Mr. Cold_

_Leonard: It's Captain Cold to you_

_Thea: U guys are so married _

_Sara: AHAHAH_

_Sara: Don't make it weird Thea come on_

_Leonard: Are we rescheduling? _

_Sara: ?_

_Leonard: The double date_

_Thea: YES PLS_

_Leonard: I'm free whenever_

_Sara: Dude you need to get a life XD_

_Leonard: Why do I need a life? I've got you XD _

_Thea: OMG OMG OMG AWWW AWW AWWWWW_

_Sara: *blushing face*_

_Sara: Stop being cute when it can be recorded and used as blackmail _

_Thea: AWWWWWW_

_Sara: Theaaaaaaaa_

_Leonard: LOL_

_Sara: Anyway, dates n times_

_Sara: I can't do anything before Christmas _

_Sara: Currently dying in the car rip me_

_Leonard: I'll come to your funeral_

_Sara: That's nice of you_

_Thea: I CAN'T TAKE THIS YOU GUYS ARE TOO ADORBS_

_Sara: Nvm we can't do this double date_

_Sara: Thea might melt_

_Thea: Wait why?_

_Thea: Oh yeah lol_

_Leonard: lol_

_Thea: But seriously_

_Thea: Oooh should we go out on New Years Eve?_

_Leonard: Can't sry_

_Sara: Thought u said u were free all vaca? XD_

_Leonard: I'm free it's just complicated_

_Thea: Um okay XD_

_Sara: He's cryptic sometimes u get used to it_

_Thea: LOL _

_Thea: Okay so not NYE_

_Sara: Probably b zooy anyway_

_Sara: And I like matching the Rockin' NYE show or whatever it's called_

_Sara: Watching* _

_Thea: Yeah_

_Thea: So not NYE but after Christmas_

_Sara: And not day after Christmas because I already have plans_

_Thea: OK u social butterfly_

_Sara: :P_

_Thea: Roy what day works for u?_

_Sara: LOLLLL I forgot Roy was even on this gc XD _

_Leonard: Not all of us r obsessive texters like u girls_

_Sara XD XD XD_

_Thea: True tho_

_Leonard: Do you want to say the 2rd of January or something? Day before school starts?_

_Sara: I'll check w/ my dad one sec_

_Sara: He said he needs to check the calendar but he thinks it's fine_

_Sara: Didn't tell him it's a double date yet whoops_

_Leonard: It's ok my dad doesn't know we're dating yet either :| _

_Sara: I wanna meet ur dad_

_Leonard: No u don't_

_Thea: #thirdwheeling_

_Sara: Sry Theaaaaa_

_Thea: It's okie_

_Thea: My mom's not home but I'll ask her when she gets back_

_Thea: ROY DOES THAT DAY WORK FOR YOU_

_Sara: Lol he's probably missed all off this_

_Sara: Probably muted this chat ages ago_

_Thea: He was the one who reawakened the idea of a double date!_

_Leonard: That does not sound like Roy Harper _

_Thea: IKR he's a changed man_

_Thea: All thanks to me of course :) :P _

_Sara: Hey Leonard it's Laurel_

_Sara: Sry Laurel stole my phone_

_Sara: Laurel again_

_Sara: You treat my sister well_

_Leonard: Hi Laurel how's it going_

_Thea: Hey Laurel!_

_Thea: How's the car ride?_

_Sara: Sara again hello_

_Leonard: Hey Sara_

_Thea: This is confusing XD_

_Sara: Laurel again hello everyone_

_Thea: gtg guys ttyl_

_Sara: Bye Thea_

_Leonard: I should probably do some hw _

_Sara: Ok bye_

_Sara: ttyl_

_Tuesday, December 22, 12:04 PM_

_Roy: Works for me _

**Author's Note: That may have possibly been the most fun scene I've ever written for AV High.**

**See, this group chat is VERY similar to one my sister and a couple of friends and I had once and I loved that group chat so very much XD I miss that group chat D: (unfortunately I ummm happened to date and then break up with one of the members of that group chat so rip that)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: I realized recently that I started writing this story around April 18th, ****_2017_****. As I'm sitting here now, on March 13th, 2020, that is more than three ****_years_****. **

**(FWIW, this specific chapter was written in October of 2019... chapter ****_48_**** was written closer to that 2020 date above)**

**I ****_also_**** realized that I had so many plot points in earlier chapters that I never resolved or came back to. Would it be crazy if I went back through 176 pages of writing just to jot down all the unresolved plot points?**

**Probably. Maybe I'm not gonna do that. **

It was a good thing that the "Double Date Squad" hadn't planned anything for New Years Eve, because the day after they planned an outing, Thea got a text from Roy.

She stared at it in absolute shock. It was probably the first time Roy had texted _her_ first.

(That wasn't strictly true but it honestly felt like it.)

'_Hey Thea_' the text read. '_U open on New Yrs Eve'_

She hurried to text back. '_Yeah think so. Why?'_

_'__Wanna go out? Dinner and watch fireworks?'_

Thea let out a _squeal_. '_YES YES YES!'_ She wrote back, and a second later she called him.

"Did you seriously just initiate?" she asked as soon as he picked up. "Oh my gosh I'm so proud!"

"Uh huh," Roy grunted. "Can you check with your mom so we can figure out plans? I have homework."

"Yeah, yeah, yes, of course," Thea babbled, feeling like she could run a marathon and still do one hundred pushups. "Hang on _one_ sec. MOM!"

Moria, thankfully, was home at the moment. She raised her eyebrow as her daughter tore down the stairs. "One of these days you're going to slip and there's going to be blood all over the floor," she sighed. "What's happening now?"

"Roy asked me out," Thea squealed.

"I thought you two were already dating?"

"_Yes_, we are, but it's always been _me_ doing the asking," Thea explained hurriedly. "Can I go out with him? On New Years Eve? He wants to go to dinner and watch the fireworks and _OMG mom this could be the night he kisses me OMG OMG OMG!_"

Moria watched her, expressionless, until Thea had taken a few deep breaths and stopped flapping around the room.

"It... goes against my better judgement," she said finally. "But _fine_, you may go out with him on New Years Eve. I want you two to head home as _soon_ as fireworks are done, understand?"

"But I can stay out until midnight with him?!" Thea asked breathlessly.

"You have to be careful driving," Moria cautioned. "People are drunk and crazy on New Years Eve. There are so many crashes."

"I'm a good driving mom; I'll be careful, I promise," Thea told her.

"And if Roy is driving?"

"I'm sure he's a good driver, too," Thea said reassuringly, though in truth she had no idea if that was true. "If you're more comfortable I can go pick him up though instead of the other way around. I mean, I think it'll be easier to find parking if it's only one car."

Moria smiled faintly. "When did you go and get practical, Thea?" she asked with a short laugh.

Thea beamed. "I kind of left him on the line; I'm going to go tell him you said yes. Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Don't make me regret it," Moria said sternly, but Thea was already charging up the stairs.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Christmas had been really nice. Caitlin always liked Christmas, even though it was frustrating that her birthday was only a couple days before it. Her mom didn't have any work to do and sometimes they would even cook together or watch a movie after unwrapping gifts.

It was also a tough time of year. After gifts had been opened and Caitlin was content to clean up her stuff and try on new clothes, Dr. Snow closed herself in her room for about an hour. Her husband, Caitlin's father, had died just a couple years ago, only a few days after Christmas. Holidays were tough.

It was during that hour, when Caitlin herself hid in her room (and, unbeknownst to her mother, spent a good fifteen minutes looking through old photos and crying), when she received a call from Julian.

"Hey," she said, her voice soft. "Merry Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, Caitlin!" he chirped back. "I have... well, I have the _best_ news."

Immediately, she was on alert. "You do? What is it? What's going on?"

"I want to tell you in person!" Julian cried, a large smile evident in his voice.

"_JULIAN_," Caitlin groaned. "That's not fair. I'm going to be dying to know now!"

"I didn't say you'd have to wait _long_," Julian protested. "Are you doing anything right now?"

"Not at the moment..." Caitlin said slowly. "I don't know if I should really leave my mom on Christmas, Julian. I mean, she's having her 'hour of grief' that I told you about, but still..."

"You, um, won't have to go far," Julian told her, laughing embarrassedly. "I might kind of be outside your house?"

Caitlin's eyes shot wide and she leapt toward her window. Julian was standing awkwardly in her driveway, peering up at the house, trying to guess which window was hers.

She flew down the stairs and out her front door. "Julian!" she cried.

He gave her a huge hug. "Happy Christmas! Again."

Caitlin gave him an impatient nod. "Okay, yes, Merry Christmas to you, too. _What is your news_?!"

"So..." Julian smiled widely. "You know how I overheard my parents saying that we were moving back to England?"

"Yes..."

"_I was wrong_," Julian exclaimed. "I overheard it all wrong! My parents weren't even talking about us. My cousins are moving to England. My _cousins_."

Caitlin's jaw fell open. She sat straight down on the frost covered grass. "No way. _No way_. You're not moving?"

"I'm not moving," Julian repeated. "I finally broke down and asked my parents straight out. I was about to launch into a carefully planned spiel about how I really didn't want to move, and didn't want to leave AV High or my friends or you, and they just gave me odd looks. 'Julian', they told me, 'We're not moving.' And so... there we go."

Caitlin bolted up from the grass and hugged him again, unable to stop squealing. "This is great news," she beamed. "This is really, _really_ great news."

"Happy Christmas!" Julian repeated with a laugh, spinning her around.

"What is going on out here?"

Both of them turned toward the house. Julian awkwardly put Caitlin down and she removed her arms from around his neck, looking at her mother who was now standing in the doorway. Carla's face was drawn and her eyes were red-rimmed. She didn't look like the kind of person who had just celebrated Christmas with her daughter.

"Sorry, mom," Caitlin murmured, feeling incredibly guilty. This was their hour of mourning, and she was out in the lawn giggling with her boyfriend.

At the same time, she would have thought that her father, wherever he was, would have been happy that she was smiling instead of crying. He never liked it when either of his girls cried, especially over him.

"What is going on out here?" Carla asked again, her voice tense.

"You remember Julian, right?" Caitlin said. Carla nodded. "Right, so... I had told you, awhile ago, how he thought he was moving to England but it actually turns out that he isn't, and so he came to tell me as soon as he found out."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, that was disrespectful of me," Julian murmured. "I should have asked first if I could come over. Or just called her to tell her. I just really wanted to let her know the news in person."

There seemed to be some sort of a struggle on Carla's face, before she took a deep breath and stepped inside, opening up her door. "Why don't you two come on in? _Yes_, Mr. Albert, you too. And yes, I remember your last name. You seem to be rather important to my daughter so I figured I might as well learn it. Now hurry up; you're letting the cold air in."

Caitlin started beaming again and took Julian's hand, dragging him inside.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Christmas at the West's house was even more special than usual this year.

This past year, Iris' little brother, Wally, had begun high school. He had decided that, instead of going to AV High, he wanted to boarding school in Keystone. Much to Joe's disappointment, he hadn't come home for Thanksgiving, and this Christmas break was the first time he had been back to the West's house all year.

"Wally!" Iris squealed as the doorbell rang. She sprinted down the stairs and flung open the door, attacking her brother with a hug.

"Iris!" he cried, hugging her tightly. "Where's dad?"

"Right here, son," Joe called, striding over and pulling Wally into a hug of his own. "It's _so_ good to see you."

Wally grinned, throwing his duffle bag into the space right in front of the stairs as he walked into the house. "Ahhh, it's good to be home," he exclaimed, breathing in deeply. "Oh, hey man!"

"Hey, Wally!" Barry said, coming down the stairs and clapping Wally on the shoulder. "Good to see you!"

Wally smiled in agreement, letting Joe take his coat and wandering further into the house. "Okay, I hate to be that person, but I am _starving_," he groaned.

"Pizza's on it's way," Joe told him, headed toward the kitchen. "You kids want some drinks and then we can set up a Christmas movie?"

Iris nodded and followed her dad into the kitchen, reaching for three glasses. Wally went to the fridge and pulled out a jug of milk. "They don't have skim at Keystone," he explained. "And 2% is really gross, so it's been awhile since I've had milk."

"Put water in it," Iris advised, pouring some milk for her brother and taking apple cider out for herself. "What do you want to drink, babe?" she called into the living room, where Barry was looking through movies.

"Whatever you're having is fine," Barry replied, glancing up and smiling.

"Warm apple cider it is," Iris told him, sticking her and Barry's cups in the microwave.

As the microwave hummed slightly in the background, the doorbell rang. "That must be the pizza," Joe said, hurrying towards the door.

Soon, the four of them were spread across the living room, with the pizza box in front of them and a couple of plates in their laps.

"So, what have you been up to?" Joe asked. The movie was loading in the TV and he figured this was a good time as any to catch up with his son.

"You know, school, friends, the usual," Wally said casually. "I actually... I met this girl."

"Oh?" Iris asked, immediately latching on. "Details? Immediately?"

Wally smirked. "I forgot how much I missed you," he laughed, slinging his arm around Iris' shoulders. "Yes, Iris, she is my girlfriend. Her name is Jesse Wells, and-"

"Whoa, wait," Barry interrupted. "Could she _possibly_ have any relation to Harrison Wells, the chemistry teacher at AV High?"

Wally nodded. "Yup," he said. "It's her dad."

While Barry choked on his cider and Iris patting his back, Joe nodded slowly. "Crazy how that happens," he commented. "Does she live nearby?"

"Yeah, about a half hour," Wally told him. "I was thinking I could have her and her dad over for dinner sometime. Her mom isn't... well, she died a couple years back, so they're alone."

"I really want to meet her," Iris said. "But honestly, Harrison Wells kind of terrifies me sooo..."

"Who _doesn't_ he terrify?" Barry asked, clearing his throat a couple times as he finished recovering from his brief choking spell. "He's always been pretty nice to Cisco and Caitlin and I but that's just because we're science nerds. Winn says that whenever he mixes up atoms and molecules he gets super annoyed."

Wally shrugged. "He's not so bad." Then he paused. "Okay, yeah, he's low key terrifying," he admitted. "But, like, he's her dad, so too bad for me." He shrugged. "He could be worse, I guess. He cares about her. And besides, he knows you guys and likes Barry! So that'll give me points, right?"

He looked so adorably nervous that the other three were quick to reassure him that, yes _of course_ that gave him points and they were all sure that Dr. Wells would love him.

That bit of nerves taken care of, Wally was more than willing to settle down and watch a Christmas movie.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Well, you can color me _incredibly annoyed_," Kara groaned from Winn's couch.

To the common passer-by, this would look like a very odd therapy session. Kara was stretched out on Winn's couch, arms splayed and legs crossed. Winn was in a chair next to her, tapping his chin with his fingers.

To Kara and Winn, however... it was _also_ a very odd therapy session.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened," Winn reminded her, crossing his legs patiently. "And considering all you've done for the past ten minutes is groan about how annoyed Mon-El makes you, it would also be a nice switch."

Kara groaned again. "Okay, so get this. Mon-El and I were on the phone together, and for some reasons Christmas gifts came up. He was all like, 'Oh, shoot, I forgot to get you a gift.' I don't even remember what exactly I said but it was probably like, 'whatever, don't worry about it.' But for _whatever reason_, Mon-El thought I was upset and started going off on how he didn't understand why girls thought that gifts were so necessary at birthdays and Christmas even though they always _said_ that money and stuff didn't matter. And then I was like, 'I never said that money matters, and if you don't get me a gift you don't have to, but I got you one!' And he's like, 'See, this is what I mean! If I don't get you something now you're going to get all mad.' And I was like, 'I'm not going to get mad!' And he was like, 'You're _already_ mad!' And then I hung up."

"Ah," was all Winn said.

"So now I don't even know where we are," Kara admitted. "Like, Winn. We _texted_ each other a Merry Christmas. First Christmas together and _we texted_. And the worst part was I'm just so _mad_ I didn't even want to call him!"

"Christmas is just a date, Kara," Winn told her, though it actually made him feel incredibly sad that they hadn't been able to get in a fight after Christmas instead of before. It _was_ their first Christmas... it should have been special. And he knew that both of them would regret wasting it on being mad at each other.

"I know," Kara sighed, her face falling. "It just feels wrong somehow."

"What matters more is what's going on between you two," Winn said. "Worry about that later. I think that Mon-El was embarrassed and maybe even a little upset that he didn't get you a present, so he got defensive."

"But I didn't even attack him!" Kara protested. "And he could have just, you know, _gotten me a present_."

"He probably felt guilty and felt the need to tell you he hadn't, so you didn't think he was this all-star boyfriend or something," Winn shrugged. "I dunno. It's basic psychology, Kar."

Kara huffed. "_Basic psychology,_" she muttered. "Well, Mr. Smart, what do you suggest I do?"

"Apologize...?" Winn suggested slowly. "I kind of thought that was obvious?"

"It wasn't _my_ fault!" Kara cried.

Winn's mom pocked her head in through the door. "Is everything alright in here?"

"Yeah, mom, we're fine," Winn said quickly.

"Sorry, Mrs. Schott," Kara added.

As soon as Mrs. Schott went back into the kitchen, the therapy session resumed. "Anyway, Winn," Kara said, a little calmer. "None of this was my fault. Why should I have to be the one to apologize?"

"Well, you don't have to," Winn shrugged, crossing his legs the other way for a change of perspective (also one of his feet had fallen asleep). "It's really up to you. Mon-El strikes me as a prideful guy. He's not apt to go around apologizing to people. If you want to get back into a healthy working relationship with him, you might have to be the one to back down and be the bigger person."

"I guess so," Kara sighed. "The awful thing was... in the moment, and even a few days afterword... I didn't even _want_ to apologize. I didn't even want him in my life!"

"Really?" Winn was skeptical. "Or is that just what you were telling yourself to excuse your actions? I'd say, because you were thinking about it at all, you did care. If you didn't care, you wouldn't be here right now, would you?"

"Well, I care _now_," Kara elaborated. "But I didn't _then_. And to be completely honest Winn, for awhile I thought I was falling in love with him. But now I can't be, right? Or this never would have happened."

Winn sighed. "Kara, just because you fight with someone doesn't mean you don't love them," he said patiently. "Think about... um... who's parents do we know that aren't separated or widowed?"

"Wow, that's encouraging me at my chance of a happy marriage," Kara muttered. "Ummm... I mean, Mon-El's parents are together."

"And do they fight?"

"I don't know, probably sometimes," Kara shrugged. "Point?"

"My guess is, they are in love," Winn explained. "Even though they fight, they're still in love. So yeah, maybe you're not _quite_ at the love point with Mon-El yet, but that's not necessarily because you fought with him. Fights happen. They're apart of a healthy relationship. Heck- _we_ fight sometimes, Kara!"

Kara sighed. "I guess so. So you really think I should apologize? Call him up?"

"No," Winn countered. When Kara turned to stare at him in confusion he added, "I think you should talk to him, in person. For starters, it makes sure he listens. For seconders- seconders? Seconds? Whatever. For seconders, neither of you can hang up to either make a dramatic effect or to stop yourself from saying something."

"What if he doesn't accept my apology?" Kara said, her voice small. "What if our entire relationship is ruined over something as small as an argument over a Christmas gift?"

Winn leaned over and patted her foot, the only part of her he could reach from his chair. "Kara, it's like you're saying: an argument over a gift is so incredibly small. If _that_ is what ruins your relationship it means that your relationship is really just not meant to work out."

Kara nodded, sitting up. "Thanks, Winn," she sighed. "You'll make a really good boyfriend to some girl some day."

He chuckled, resisting the urge to say that he could have been a good boyfriend to _her_, if she had let him. He was over that now.

"Thanks, Kara. Glad I could help."

**Author's Note: WINNN I LOVE WINNNNNNN**

**I didn't want to start Thea and Roy's date just yet... next chapter! NGL, it is probably one of my favorites in the entire story. So GET EXCITED! ;D **

**Just wait for New Years... we have a couple new students coming in that I think'll be a whole lot of fun :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note: As of when I'm writing this, I just made the thumbnail/picture/cover for this story! I'm sure from you guy's perspectives you've seen it the whole time BUT if you haven't checked it out give it a look see :D I think it looks pretty darn awesome if I do say so myself. **

**HEY, so this is KINDA spoilers for the chapter kinda not BUT... if you don't already know Thea and Roy's first kiss, I recommend going to check it out. (you'll understand why later :)**

"Oh my gosh, Thea," Sara groaned, and through the small screen of her phone Thea could see the blond rolling over on her bed, rolling her eyes. "You're acting like this is your first date."

"No, I'm not," Thea huffed. "I just happen to know that tonight'll be the night when I get my first kiss."

"From Roy Harper."

"From Roy Harper," Thea amended. "It's still special, though."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, it's great," Sara deflected. "But when he kisses you his eyes are _hopefully_ going to be closed so all you need to worry about is not wearing sticky lipgloss or something. I get the feeling that Roy -and most guys, honestly- don't care at all how you look when they actually are dating you and like you and stuff."

"Says the girl who started totally upping her dressing-up game after her crush stood her up, _and_ wore makeup for the first time in her life when he asked her to a dance," Thea shot back with a huff."

"Oh my gosh, Thea," Sara groaned again, rolling back over onto her stomach. "1: I've told you a _million_ times me dressing up wasn't for Leonard, 2: I massively regretted wearing makeup to homecoming, and 3: That was like at the beginning of this year and I was young and naive and stupid. Be better than me, Thea," she added dramatically, bringing the screen up close to her face. "_Be betterrrrrrr..._"

Thea giggled. "You're so weird," she said. "But honestly, Sara, if I want to dress up for a date what's the harm in that? It's New Years Eve. We might take pictures. There'll probably be handholding and yes, maybe when he actually kisses me we'll have our eyes closed but he's still going to see me tonight."

"Girl, I'm all for getting excited and dressing up," Sara told her. "I just don't feel like you need to be stressing out about it like you are."

Thea sighed and flopped down on the bed, holding her phone above her face so Sara could still see her. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she agreed after a pause. "But... red dress or blue?"

"Blue," Sara confirmed, nodding. "And don't curl your hair just kind of... wave it?"

"Okay, yeah," Thea nodded her agreement. "Yeah, I liked that. Thanks, Sara."

She tapped her phone screen and checked the time. "Ah! I got to get changed hang on one sec."

For a couple of minutes all Sara could see what's Thea's pale purple ceiling. She rested her face on the palm of her hand and waiting, humming softly under her breath.

Thea popped back into view. "Like it?"

The dress she was wearing was a little darker than bright blue, (a color called admiral, though neither girl knew that) and looked almost more like a long jacket than a dress. It had a collar and a tie around the waist and built in silver-bead-detailing around the neckline that almost looked like a necklace.

"Love it," Sara said approvingly. "Now put on some mascara and neutral eyeshadow and you'll be good to go."

Thea gave her a thumbs up sign. "See, this is why I go to you for help," she complimented. "Nobody would know it to look at you, but you're actually really good at this kind of stuff."

"Thanks," Sara beamed. Then: "Hey, that's mean!"

Thea laughed. "Bye Sara. Love you."

"Love you too, jerk," Sara muttered, shaking her head and ending the call.

"Thea!" Moria called from downstairs. "You need to get going. You're picking him up at 7:00, right?"

"Yeah, I'm heading out now!" Thea called back. She grabbed a purse from the back of her desk chair and stuffed some money in the wallet section before sprinting downstairs. "Hi mom, bye mom, love you!"

Moria caught her arm before she could sprint out the door. "Drive safe," she said seriously. "Be smart. Make good choices."

"Yes, mom, okay," Thea sighed, before giving her mother a quick hug. "Thank you for agreeing to this. I promise we won't get in a car crash, drink, or do anything stupid."

Moria nodded. "Have fun," she said after a moment, like it was a difficult thing to tell her daughter.

Thea nodded and ran down the front steps.

She picked up Roy at his house and he got into the car, making a dry comment on the fact that he felt so un-chivalrous because _she_ was driving _him, _instead of the other way around.

Thea laughed. "It's called gender equality, Roy," she told him, patting his shoulder. "Now buckle up. Safety first!"

"Okay, mom," Roy huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Original, Roy," Thea sighed. "_Very_ original."

They arrived at a restaurant called The Pier. It wasn't a particularly original name, but it was certainly descriptive, considering the building was located at the end of a pier. Roy mock-gallantly offered Thea his arm and she took it. They walked toward the door.

"Uh... I made a reservation?" Roy said awkwardly when the hostess asked if she could help them. "For... Harper?"

Thea's stomach flip-flopped giddily. "Look at you," she murmured. "All responsible and making reservations for us with your last name."

"What else was I going to make them with?" Roy asked blankly as the hostess led them further into the restaurant.

Thea didn't respond, staring around in awe at the fancy table clothes and tall windows looking over the ocean. The sun was starting to set. "Oh my gosh, Roy, this is... beautiful."

He grinned sheepishly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. In true Roy nature, he was still wearing jeans... though he had upgraded his normal red hoodie to a v-neck sweater. For him... he looked really nice.

"I'm glad you like it," Roy said, sitting down. "Um... I'm probably not going to be able to pay for both of us though? Sorry, I know that's like the guys job, but..."

"Roy, it's totally fine," Thea assured him. "You found the restaurant. How 'bout I pay this once?" He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. "You can cover dessert."

"Oh, so we're having dessert, are we?" Roy asked, smiling.

"_Yes_, we're having dessert!" Thea gasped, shocked. "Roy. A place like this... can you imagine what their ice cream Sunday looks like?"

They made it through dinner with a considerable amount flirting and a little bit of "serious talk" (as Sara called it), too. Roy confided in Thea that he had never actually been to a restaurant like this, and she told him that, while she _had_ come to nice restaurants before, she had never gone to one with such nice company.

The stars were out and it was nearly 9:00 by the time they scraped the last bits of hot fudge off of the sides of the bowl in the center of the table. It had been a _very_ good ice cream Sunday.

"I think I'm going to explode," Thea mumbled, patting her stomach. "I am so full I could actually die."

"Mmm..." Roy grunted back. He had eaten his own meal and finished hers. If she was going to explode he was actually exploding. He glanced down and checked his phone. "Ugh, we gotta go. The fireworks are going to start in a half hour and I want to get a good spot."

"Ooh, fireworks?" Thea's eyes lit up. "Let's go!" She leapt to her feet, fullness forgotten, and she and Roy grabbed their coats and headed outside.

Roy must have come to the area before their date, because he took Thea's hand and led her straight away from the restaurant and down the beach. They sat down on the sand and Thea pulled a hat out from her pocket, tugging it over her hair.

Roy watched her, swallowing nervously. "You... uh... you look, um, really pretty tonight. I don't think I remember to, uh, tell you. When you picked me up."

"Thanks, Roy," Thea murmured, cheeks coloring. "You know, I'm... I'm really glad we got here."

"To the beach?" Roy asked, confused.

"No, like..." Thea shifted a little. "Like, here emotionally. Like that we're dating. Not that this beach isn't beautiful but we wouldn't have that if we didn't have... us. I like us."

"I like us, too," Roy whispered, swallowing.

He placed a hand on her cheek and started to lean forward. Thea's eyes fluttered shut. It might not have been midnight, but she didn't care.

A firework exploded above their heads and they both jumped. Thea stared up at the sky, eyes wide. "They're so... close."

Roy grinned. "Why else do you think we're here?"

They laid back on the sand and stared up at the starry sky as fireworks burst above them. Roy took Thea's hand and she gave it a squeeze, resting her head on his shoulder.

When the fireworks show was over, the two of them headed back toward Thea's car. "So, there's this café a little ways down the road," Roy told her. "I was thinking we could head their and get some hot chocolate and bring in the New Year?"

Thea nodded happily, heading out to cross the road.

A car came screeching around the corner, headlights lightning up the pavement like the fireworks had only twenty minutes before. Thea froze, watching as the vehicle can toward her, swerving this way and that across the road. Through the glare of the headlights she could see a couple people, maybe in their twenties, laughing wildly.

Thea screamed.

The driver looked up, eyes going wide, and jerked the wheel, but it was too late. Thea shut her eyes and tensed, waiting for the impact.

She was going to die.

Then a body flung itself on top of hers, knocking her violently to the ground and rolling her across the road.

The car missed by mere inches and left a swirl of grit and loose gravel flying toward her and her unidentified hero. Thea started to cough, trembling all over, before she heard a gasp beside her.

"Thea?" Roy demanded, pushing himself up from the road and then collapsing back onto his side. "Ah- ahh!"

"Roy!" Thea gasped, scrambling over to him. "Oh my God, are you alright? You just... you just _saved my life_."

Roy groaned. "I think I broke my wrist."

"OMG," Thea muttered, reaching out to grasp his shoulder. "OMG, we almost just died. I almost just died."

Roy swallowed. "_Thea_," he grit out. "_I think I just broke my wrist_."

The words finally registered and Thea let out a small scream. "Okay, okay!" she babbled, her head spinning. There was an odd ringing in her ears. She could hear her pulse. "We need- we need to get you to a hospital."

She leapt to her feet, staggered dizzily, and sat back down. Roy struggled to sit and reached out for her. "Thea... you're freezing," he murmured, hand on her cheek. She swallowed thickly, head in a fog. "We have to get you to a hospital."

"You're in shock," Roy told her, hand still on her face. "You're in no state to drive."

"I'll be alright," Thea insisted. She took a steadying breath and got to her feet, much slower, before helping him up. His breathing was labored, one arm held protectively against his chest. "Let's get to the car."

Her head felt clearer by the time they arrived at the car, the cool air hitting her face and forcing her to focus. Her hands were still trembling when she tried to grip the wheel and Roy carefully pulled off his jacket, wincing a little, and draped it around her shoulders. It smelled like him and she took a deep, steadying breath. _Don't think about what just happened_, she ordered herself. _Don't think don't think don't._

She drove to the walk in clinic in a daze. When she and Roy arrived they found the lot nearly empty. Suddenly panicked, Thea turned to him. "It's still open, right? It's so empty. It's gotta still be open."

Roy nodded, swallowing. His face was an odd shade of grey and he was gripping his arm right above the elbow, knuckles white. "It's, like, 10:00 at night, Thea. Everyone's either at home or watching fireworks or doing... New Years Eve things."

She nodded, tumbling out of the car and running around to help him out. She led him into the clinic, one arm wrapped around his waist.

(**sorry for any inaccuracies coming up :**)

The receptionist glanced up when they walked in. "We- we need help-" Thea managed, before bursting into tears.

The receptionist hurried around the desk, her face creased in concern. "Oh my goodness, what happened? Are you both alright?"

Roy wrapped an arm around Thea's shoulders, holding her into his side as she buried her face into his sweater, trembling all over. He shook his head. "There was some- some- crazy driver and he almost hit- almost hit Thea when she was crossing the road- but I knocked her out of the way and landed on my wrist- she's in shock- I think my wrist is broken and it- _hurts_-"

His voice wavered a little and Roy sucked in a breath, staring firmly at the ceiling until his eye's stopped watering.

"Okay, okay," the receptionist seemed a little at a lost. "Why don't you both sit down. How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen," Thea mumbled, allowing herself to get led to the waiting room chairs along the wall. "And he's seventeen. I can- I can call m-my mom... she's home right now; she could c-come pick us up."

"Alright, you do that," the receptionist nodded. "I'm going to get a couple of papers you need to fill out, but then I'll have someone to look at you two right away. Luckily for you there's not going to be too much of a wait."

Thea nodded, curling up in the chair and pulling out her phone. After explaining the whole situation to Moria (which included a lot of hiccuping, more crying, and Moria having to ask "what?!" about five times), her mother said that she would be on her way as soon as possible.

Once she had hung up, she turned back to Roy. "How're you doing? Should you call your dad?"

He nodded, reaching his good arm to grab his phone. The conversation with his dad went very different from Thea's: "Hey, dad, it's Roy. I'm- well, _we're_\- at the walk in clinic- yeah, everything's fine... well, I mean- dad, it's fine. We're both okay. I... messed up my wrist but I'm really okay. No, we didn't get in a crash. Some lunatic almost hit Thea when she was crossing the road and I knocked her out of the way. Yeah, she's okay. She's shaken. She already called her mom. Could you come- yeah, I'm really fine, I swear. Could you come pick me up? Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, dad. I'm fine. I'll see you soon."

He tucked his phone back in his pocket and let out a breath, resting his head on the back of the chair and shutting his eyes for a moment before going back to the forms on his lap.

After he and Thea had both filled them out to the best of their abilities (the receptionist was making an exception because they were in such terrible states and their parents would be coming soon to finish the forms), Thea got up and brought them to the desk. The receptionist smiled at her and clicked a few keys on her keyboard. "Do you want to go in together?"

"_Yes_," both Thea and Roy said immediately.

A couple minutes later their were being lead into an examination room by a middle aged, balding doctor. "Alright," he said. "So what happened here?"

Once again, the story was explained. The doctor stretched Roy out on the examination able, nodding slowly. "Well, Miss Queen. You're quite lucky to have a friend as brave as Roy Harper."

"Yeah," Thea agreed, resting her hand on Roy's shoulder.

The doctor felt around Roy's wrist and he winced, grabbing onto Thea's hand. "There's a definite break here," he told them. "Why don't you come with me to the X-ray machine down the hall and we'll see what's going on?"

Around twenty minutes later, the doctor was set up with a splint and a cast. "I'm going to have to set it," he warned. "I'll give you a shot that should numb the area pretty well but it's going to be sore."

"Y-You're going to give me a shot?" Roy asked, eyes growing large. "I don't- I don't need-"

Thea gave him a look. "You jumped in front of a car to save me and you're afraid of a tiny little needle?" she asked incredulously.

"Doesn't look so tiny to me," Roy muttered, staring past her to where the doctor was preparing the injection.

Thea sighed. "Just... try to think about something else," she suggested.

Roy wasn't quite looking at her, his gaze past her shoulder as the doctor finished filling the syringe with clearish fluid and brought it over to them. "This might sting a bit," he warned Roy as he turned his patent's wrist over and gently felt for his vein. As he raised the needle, Thea felt Roy's grip on her hand tighten to bone-crunching.

She did the only thing she could think of: gently turned his face with her free hand and kissed him.

_Oh boy._

_Wow. _

_That's... wow. _

Thea gently pulled back, her eyelids fluttering open and her heart pounding.

"All done," the doctor said, pulling the needle back out of Roy's arm and eyeing the two of them with a faint smile. "We'll give that a second and then I'll set it."

Roy muttered something unintelligible, maybe intended to be a confirmation that he had heard and understood. His eyes were wide and he was staring at Thea in... something. Thea wasn't quite sure what.

"But it... it wasn't at midnight," he said finally, his shoulders slumping.

Thea looked at him, confused. "Huh?"

"I thought you wanted our first kiss to be at midnight," Roy elaborated. "It'd be all romantic and everything."

"_Roy_..." Thea reached up and cupped his cheek. "Don't be stupid. I didn't care when our first kiss was... I just wanted it to happen. And if a New Years Eve tradition was going to make it happen then of course I was excited for that."

The doctor had taken a hold of Roy's wrist. "I'm going to set this now, alright? It might hurt a bit."

Roy nodded vaguely in his direction, eyes on Thea. "So you really don't care? About all that cheesy romantic stuff?"

Thea sighed, shaking her head fondly. "Roy, as long as it's with you, it's going to be cheesy romantic."

"I'm not cheesy romantic!" Roy protested.

"Um..." Thea squinted at him, teasing. "You took me to a fancy restaurant and then a deserted spot on the beach so that we could watch fireworks, and then proceeded to _save my life_. You're definitely cheesy romantic."

He huffed, but he was smiling.

She was about to kiss him again when he suddenly let out a cry of pain. "Ow, hey!"

The doctor raised his eyebrows and reached for the splint. "I told you it might hurt a bit."

Roy grumbled something under his breath. The doctor finished up with his wrist and he pulled it back toward him, rubbing it.

"You are free to go," the doctor told them. "Your parents are going to finish filling out the forms at the front desk?"

Thea felt her heart leap. "Our parents..." she moaned in relief. "Our parents are here."

Roy muttered a quick thank you to the doctor and the two of them all but ran for the waiting room.

"Thea!" Moria gasped as soon as she spotted her daughter. Thea barreled into her arms and buried her face into her mom's shoulder. "Oh my goodness, are you alright?"

She nodded tearfully, wrapping her arms around her mother and hugging her tightly. A couple feet away, Roy Harper Sr. had grabbed his son in a hug, too, and Roy started to cry.

Once the Roy and Thea had had their reunions, and the former had collected himself some, the pairs broke up and faced each other. "Any medical bill that your son has," Moria said. "I'm _insist_ you let me pay. He saved my daughters life and for that I will never be able to repay you."

Mr. Harper let out a breath, looking incredibly relieved. "That would be... that would be so very generous, ma'am. We appreciate it; we really do."

Moria nodded, satisfied. "Good, good. I hate it when people put up a fight when I offer to pay for things."

Mr. Harper nodded, looking a little uncomfortable. Thea resisted the urge to groan and offered Roy an apologetic smile. He just laughed.

About five minutes later the four of them were standing the chill, dark air, Roy now holding a bottle of pain medication. It was nearly 11:00 when Thea checked her phone.

"Well, that was a very eventful evening," Moria commented, one arm still around her daughter's shoulders.

"We never finished our date," Thea sighed, looking regretfully at Roy. "I'd say we should still go to that cafe to get cocoa and bring in the New Year but... I feel like I could probably fall asleep right here on the pavement."

Roy snorted, sticking his good hand into his pocket. "Yeah, I feel that," he agreed.

Moria and Mr. Harper gave them knowing glances. "I'll be at the car," Moria told Thea. "Don't take too long."

"Yes, mother," Thea sighed, rolling her eyes at Roy.

The two parents walked off, talking in low voices, and Thea turned to Roy. "Thank you," she said. "Again. For saving my life. And for the date. I had a really nice time. I mean... maybe not the almost-dying bit but the first part was... really nice."

Roy smiled. "I'm glad. I'm glad you had fun. I did, um... too."

Thea bit her lip and stepped a little closer. "Can I kiss you again?" she asked hesitantly.

"No," Roy murmured. "It's my turn."

He cupped her face with his good hand and gently kissed her. When they broke apart Thea smiled and bit her lip. "Goodnight, Roy. See you soon."

"Bye, Thea," he echoed. "Goodnight."

**Author's Note: YOOOOOOOO that was all one section and it was LONG TOO!**

**I hope you guys enjoyed my Theroy special! :D :D :D **

**Also, I know that everything in our world is so totally crazy right now. If anyone needs to talk please PM me and I'll see if I can't cheer you up or at least listen to you :) Love y'all.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Note: When you write this big long chapter about one of your commonly-forgotten OTPs... and then you have no idea how to follow it up. Ah well. Here goes nothing.**

While Thea was having a clothing crisis before her (kind of life-changing) date with Roy, Alex was having a very different kind of New Years Eve.

She had (after much work) convinced her mom to let her go out on New Years Eve and had headed to Laurel's house for a sleepover. That's when she found out that Laurel had _also_ invited Maggie.

Awkwardness ensued.

Maggie, being Maggie, was so darn sweet about it. "Hey, Alex, if this makes you uncomfortable I can leave," she said seriously, giving Alex a meaningful look.

Alex shifted. "I don't... I don't want you to leave," she murmured. "It's not fair, anyway. And, like, it's not a co-ed sleepover so my mom would _probably_ still be fine with it, but... you know how I.. yeah."

"Yeah," Maggie echoed.

"You know how I feel," Alex whispered. "About us. And, like..."

Laurel was standing awkwardly to the side, feeling as if she was intruding. "Would it make you more comfortable if we split up the sleeping?" she asked Alex. "I mean, I was thinking we'd all crash in my room. You could sleep in my bed and Maggie and I could sleep on the floor."

"I brought my sleeping bag," Maggie offered helpfully.

Alex nodded, relieved. "Yeah, yeah, that'd be fine. If you guys don't mind."

Laurel shrugged. "I'm just sorry I didn't tell you. I mean... I sent it to the group chat so I assumed you'd know it was an invite for both of you."

Maggie and Alex looked confused. "You did?" Alex frowned. "I just got a text from you."

Maggie nodded her agreement, before rolling her eyes. "It's my fault," she groaned. "It's because I don't have an iPhone. Texts are always glitching."

"Is _that_ why we can't name the group chat?" Laurel asked, laughing. "I thought it was something on my end."

Maggie sighed and threw herself down on the couch. "Do you know how difficult it is having an Android in a world of Apple users?" she moaned. "Everyone's always bashing you about how your phone ruins everything. Did you know you can't add people to group chats when I'm in one?"

"That is truly terrible," Laurel stated gravely, sitting down beside her.

Alex nodded her agreement. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said, snorting.

Maggie started to giggle and soon the three of them were laughing hysterically.

Sara pocked her head down from the staircase. "Could you guys calm down?" she asked grumpily. "I'm trying to FaceTime Thea and she's worried there's a pack of hyenas downstairs."

"Tell her there is," Alex called, smirking. "Tell her that if she doesn't stop obsessing over Roy Harper they'll come and eat her."

Sara snorted and then sighed. "I would ask how you knew she was talking about Roy but I suppose it's not terribly hard to guess, it being all she ever talks about."

She disappeared back up the stairs, where she would remain for most of the early evening.

"So, what are we doing tonight?" Maggie asked, repositioning herself on the couch so that she was no longer taking up over half of it and making room for Alex to sit.

"Well, we're gonna watch some New Years Rockin' Eve, for sure," Laurel told her. "We will be eating some food... drinking some sparkling cider... and either falling asleep before midnight or pulling an all-nighter!"

"There's no in between?" Alex asked, nose wrinkling.

"Nope." Laurel pulled her legs up and crossed them, pretzel position. "Now which one of you wants to help me with my physics homework?"

"_Laurel_!" Maggie groaned. "You seriously brought us here to watch television and help you with your homework? We've been on vacation for, like, eight days. I'm not even _starting_ my homework until two days before vacation ends." She glanced over at Alex. "Agreed?"

Alex laughed. "I'm already done, actually."

"No way," Maggie said incredulously. "Even the 8 page essay?"

"Even the 8 page essay," Alex agreed. "Kara and Mon-El have been having some rough times so she hasn't really wanted to do anything with anyone. I've mostly been hiding in my room doing homework so my mom wouldn't force me to clean before Christmas."

"That's pretty solid," Laurel nodded, impressed. She tugged out her phone and glanced at the time. "7:09. And so the minutes creep ever onward."

"You bored of us already?" Maggie snarked.

"Yes," Laurel said dryly, before reaching for the stack of papers that were balancing on the couch's side-table. "Now help."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

After Sara hung up on Thea, she FaceTimed Leonard.

To her surprise, Mick was the one who picked up. "Hey, Blondie," he grunted.

"Mick!" Sara raised her eyebrows. "What're you doing with Len's phone?"

"I'm hanging at his place for the night," Mick shrugged. "Buffer between the old-man and all that. You know."

Sara frowned. She actually _didn't_ know, and was about to ask when the phone jostled and Leonard's face popped into view. "Hey, Sara," he greeted.

"Hey, Len," Sara said, smiling happily. "Happy New Years."

"You too," Leonard replied, smiling back.

Mick took back the phone. "What'd you do to him?!" he demanded. "He's all... sappy now. Real men don't smile like that."

Sara laughed. "That's where you're wrong, Mick. Real men aren't _afraid_ to smile like that."

He pulled a face and Leonard moved the phone back again. "I'll take that as a compliment," he said smoothly. "So, what's going on?"

"I'm bored," Sara grumped. "Thea's going on a date, Laurel has Alex and Maggie over, and I don't feel like doing homework 'cause that's _laaaame_. What're you up to?"

"Mick is making nachos," Leonard said, flipping the screen around and show the bulky senior (who Sara was half-positive dropped out of school during the first three weeks) hovering around an old, dirty oven with a metal trey. He glanced up and grunted before sticking the pan in the oven and turning it on.

A small, brunet girl wandered into the kitchen. She yawned.

"Tired already?" Leonard teased.

"Jerk," the girl muttered.

"Train wreck," he replied fondly.

Sara's face broke into a smile. "Who's that?" she asked, eager for one of her first tastes of Leonard's home life.

"That is Lisa," Leonard explained, turning the camera back to him. Sara muffled a giggle at the weird angle on his face. "She's my little sister."

"Who're you talking to, Lenny?" Lisa asked, walking over to peer at the screen. "Are you Sara? He doesn't shut up about you."

"Aw, really?" Sara grinned. "_Leonard_, I didn't know you cared."

"Yes you did," Leonard sighed, rolling his eyes.

"It's nice to meet you, Lisa," Sara said. "How old are you?"

"Ten," Lisa told her. "Are you and Lenny dating?"

Sara grinned. "Yes indeedy-do, we are."

Leonard snorted and picked up his phone. "I'm gonna head outside for a bit, okay?" he told his sister. "Tell me when the nachos are ready?"

She nodded his agreement and he walked out onto what seemed to Sara to be a porch. "When do I get to come over and see your house?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"When do I get to come over and see _yours_?" he countered, smiling.

"Uh, in case you forgot, my dad kind of totally still doesn't know we're dating," Sara groaned.

"You think mine _does_?"

She shrugged. "You didn't seem like the type to care."

Leonard sighed, sitting down on the front steps. "Sara, you don't want to come around here," he told her. "There's no space to hang out and talk, and everything's a dump. Besides, Lis would be getting in our face the whole time."

Sara sighed. "Fine, I guess so," she allowed, and changed the subject. She had learned from past experience that Leonard really only liked to talk about serious things (like his family, or the future) in short doses before he got uncomfortable or moody. "What are your plans for tonight?"

"What, you wanna sneak out and meet somewhere?" Leonard asked, smirking.

Sara's eyebrows raised. "Hey, I wasn't gonna suggest it but sure-"

"Kidding, Sara," Leonard sighed. "I can't imagine your father would appreciate that, and that would probably put me on his 'bad influence' list. Which is really _not_ what I need."

"C'mon, Len, why do you think he won't like you?" Sara asked, shaking her head. "Give him a chance. My father can be pretty chill... occasionally... sometimes... on his good days."

"Encouraging," Leonard muttered dryly.

They fell into silence and Leonard's gaze went past the screen, toward the sky. "We could have gone to see fireworks," he said suddenly. "I didn't really think about that. I don't like leaving Lisa home on New Years. When my dad gets home things can get a bit... messy."

Sara felt her heart rate pick up and her stomach turn slightly. "Len... when you say messy... does your dad-"

The front door suddenly flew open and Lisa walked out. "Come on, Lenny," she urged. "Nachos are ready and Mick said we can watch television and have some soda."

Leonard gave Sara an apologetic glance. "I should probably go," he told her.

"Aw, okay," Sara sighed. "I'll go back to being bored and lonely then." She grinned. "Nah, it's fine. Night, Leonard."

"Good night, Sara. See you later."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Iris was curled up next to Barry in the window seat in the Wests' living room, her head tucked under his chin. "Do you remember last New Years Eve?" she asked.

Barry tilted his head contemplatively. "Yes...?"

"We sat on the couch," Iris reminded him. "And Joe brought us a quart of mint chocolate chip ice cream and we ate the entire thing straight out of the container. And then you sang to me." Her face broke into a smile. "I liked last year. It was nice."

"So you're not regretting not doing something with your friends?" Barry confirmed.

"Of course not," Iris told him. "Thea was going on a date with Roy and Sara was probably going to be FaceTiming Leonard. She said she was planning on sneaking out of her house at midnight and going to meet him but it's Sara so she probably isn't."

Barry laughed. "Hey, you never know. I can see her ninja rolling out of the second-story window and making it out undetected."

Iris frowned. "Hm. Maybe I should call her and make sure that she doesn't do that and break her face."

"She'll be fine," Barry said quickly, not wanting Iris to get up. He was comfortable curled up on the window seat, and besides, it was nearly midnight and the fireworks were about to start.

Iris nodded, easily convinced, and snuggled back up to Barry's side. They watched the sky, the moon looking like a fingernail as it hung, sliver thin. She yawned.

"Don't go falling asleep yet," Barry told her, shaking his head. "You'll miss midnight."

Iris murmured unintelligibly and Barry rested his chin on her dark hair, breathing in the sent of roses. "You're beautiful," he told her softly. "And I love you."

"Aw, babe," Iris murmured, melting a little. "I love you, too."

The fireworks started. They heard a few booms before the first rocket got high enough over the tree-line for them to see. It burst a bright red, glimmered, and then vanished. A wide smile crossed Iris' face. Barry kissed her cheek.

Joe walked in, placing his hands on their shoulders. "Enjoying the show?" he asked with a faint smile.

They were both looking at each other.

**Author's Note: CAN WE JUST END WITH THAT CUTENESS PLEASE?!**

**Okay seriously- out of all of the ships in this story they are probably my favorite (also Leonard and Sara). The funny thing about that is the IRL, I probably ship them the least XD **

**TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE SHIP IN THE COMMENTS BELOW! (both in this story and otherwise :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note: IT'S OFFICIALLY 2019 IN AV HIGH WORLD!**

**(though I guess, in real time, by the time I'm posting this it's probably like 2020 XD Whoa. 2020?! DUDE!)**

"I feel like we were just having this conversation like two days ago," Sara sighed, as she laid on her bed FaceTiming Thea.

"A lot has changed since then, Sara," Thea said gravely. "_Boy_ do Roy and I have a story to tell... you and Leonard will hear it in full tonight."

"I'm worried," Sara said dryly.

Thea rolled her eyes. "Now, what're you wearing? I don't want to clash in case we take any photos."

Sara shrugged. "I dunno, jeans? My boots, obviously."

Thea sighed. "Okay, Miss Unhelpful," she grumped. "Now walk over to that closet of yours and let me take a look."

Humoring her, Sara got up and opened up her closet.

"Let's see..." Thea hummed, squinting at the screen. "Okay, jeans, -the dark ones, with the ripped knee- your boots, and that dark red long sleeve top. Yeah, that one. Then do that short black leather jacket."

"Hm," Sara grunted. "That's actually not a half bad outfit."

"I love other people's closets," Thea sighed happily. "So many possibilities."

"I'm gonna change," Sara told her, placing her phone on her bed so that the camera was pointed at the ceiling instead of her.

Thea began to peruse her own closet thoughtfully. "I'm thinking maybe my skinny black pants?" she called over. "And then this black and white patterned tank top."

"Mm, let me see?" Sara said, poking her head into the frame. "Thea, you're going to be absolutely freezing."

"Okay, then, I'll wear this," Thea rooted around in her closet and pulled out a rusty reddish-pink cardigan. "My minds made up; this is perfect."

"If you say so," Sara snickered. Thea saw her shrugging on her leather jacket before she held up her phone, flipped the camera, and walked over to the full length mirror behind her door. The two of them looked at her outfit.

"I like it," Thea approved.

Sara nodded and plugged in the curling iron wand that was lying on her dresser. "We have to get going soon," she said, glancing at the time on her phone.

"Yeah," Thea agreed. Her picture briefly disappeared as she x-ed out of FaceTime. "I'm going to text the boys and make sure we're still good for today."

By the time both of them replied, Sara was halfway done waving the ends of her long blond hair, Thea had picked out a pair of shoes and touched up her eyeliner, and both of them were running a little late.

"Alright, I'm hanging up," Sara told her, reaching for her phone as she quickly unplugged her curling iron. "See you in a few."

Thea said her goodbyes and Sara ended the call, grabbing her purse and running for the door.

Laurel was sitting in the kitchen, eating a bagel. She raised her eyebrow as Sara started to tug on her knee-high white boots. "Black shoes would go better," she told her.

"Yeah?" Sara glanced down and sighed. "I suppose so." She began to pull them back off again and reached for her black high-top sneakers.

"So... double date, huh?"

Sara nodded. "Yup-dee-doodles," she replied, before blinking. "_What_ just came out of my mouth?"

"I honestly don't know," Laurel said dryly, before tossing her the keys. "Have fun."

Sara caught the keys, finished tying her shoes, and grabbed her coat. "Bye!" she called, and ran out the door.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Felicity loved the holidays. It was true that celebrating Hanukkah set her apart from her mostly-Christmas-obsessed classmates, and that having to explain that she didn't celebrate Christmas over and over again when asked what "Santa brought her" was tiresome, Felicity still loved the holidays.

Oliver was being surprisingly sweet about it all. He called her on New Years three minutes after midnight, when Felicity was yawning and bleary eyed and bored out of her mind. "Hey, Happy New Years," he started.

"Happy New Years, Oliver," Felicity replied, smiling. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good. Thea's out with Roy and Diggle is probably sleeping so I'm alone."

"Yeah, me too," Felicity agreed. "My mom went to bed like 3 hours ago. I considered following suit but I figured it's too much of a tradition _not_ to stay up."

Oliver laughed. "Hey, so, I was wondering. School starts up day after tomorrow but if you're free tomorrow afternoon would you want to come over? I know you don't celebrate Christmas... does that include not being able to decorate Christmas cookies?'

It was Felicity's turn to laugh. "Of course I can decorate cookies," she assured him. "I think that would be a lot of fun. I'm going to have to check my homework level and ask my mom who is, again, asleep. But I'll get back to you tomorrow morning."

Tomorrow morning had come, as had the allowance from her mom to head to Oliver's and decorate cookies. So there she was in a snowflake sweater and an elf hat, standing out front of the Queen's small mansion with a container of sprinkles in one hand and a bag of various chocolate chips in the other.

She rang the doorbell with her elbow and waited.

It was actually Thea who opened the door. "Heeeey, Felicity," she greeted with a grin, before calling over her shoulder: "Ollie! Your girlfriend's here!"

"Yes, _thank you Thea, _I told you I'd get the door," Oliver grit out, tugging his sister's hood so she stumbled back from the door. "Hi, Felicity."

"Hi," Felicity replied, smiling shyly. Then she took another look at Thea and frowned a little. "Uh... is that Roy's sweatshirt?"

Thea flipped up the hood, grinning. "Yeah. It smells like him. I'll give it back eventually when it doesn't anymore."

"Yeah, sure he loves that idea," Oliver grunted, rolling his eyes. "C'mon Felicity. Rasia made cookies and she said they're cool enough to start decorating."

Thea tagged along behind them as they walked into the kitchen and Felicity put down her stuff.

"Felicity Smoak!" Rasia greeted with a large smile, taking her shoulders and kissing both her cheeks. "It is so nice to see you here with Oliver. I made cookies for you two to decorate."

"Thank you," Felicity said, smiling back at her. Oliver pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and gestured with dramatic gentlemanliness to it and Felicity giggled, sitting down.

Thea hoisted herself up on the kitchen counter and stole a cookie, biting into it. "Mm, these are good Rasia, thanks."

"Well, if you ever invite that Roy Harper boy over again, I will make some for you two," Rasia told her. "But for now these are for Mr. Queen and Ms. Smoak."

Thea stuck her tongue out playfully and stole another cookie. Rasia flapped at her with a dish cloth and Thea giggled, running for the door. Felicity glanced over at Oliver, watching him watch his sister and maid/surrogate mother with a fond smile.

"See ya!" Thea called, second cookie already halfway gone. "I gotta go get ready for my double date."

Rasia soon followed after her. "If you two need anything," she told Oliver and Felicity. "I'll be in the library cleaning up some books."

Felicity leaned over to Oliver. "You have a _library_?" she asked, incredulous. "How 19th century Clue game is that?"

Oliver shrugged. "It's an old house," he offered.

They settled down, and Oliver grabbed the plate of cooling cookies and two extra plates for decorating. Felicity scooped frosting into bowls and Oliver directed her toward the knives.

About three cookies each had been decorated and light conversation about homework and the New Year had been had when Moria Queen herself walked into the room.

"Felicity," she said, in a way that made Felicity think that she hadn't been told that her son was having his girlfriend over

"Mom!" Oliver said, standing up and almost knocking his chair over. "Um... hi. You remember my girlfriend Felicity, right?"

"Of course..." Moria said, shaking Felicity's hand stiffly. "She came over for Thea's sleepover a couple of weeks ago."

Felicity nodded. "It's nice to meet you," she exclaimed, before realizing what had just popped out of her mouth and quickly backtracking. "I mean, it's nice to meet you again. Not that I'm really meeting you right now- so I guess it's just nice to see you again? Though did I see you at Thea's sleepover? I can't remember. I feel like I've seen you before, though. We _have_ met before, right? I'm Felicity Smoak-"

Oliver coughed and Felicity shut up, face turning a dark shade of crimson. Moria arched one perfectly plucked eyebrow. "I... see," she said finally. "Well, you two enjoy your... cookie decorating."

Felicity sat back down and thunked her head down on the table. "Hey!" Oliver cried, shooting a hand out to make sure she didn't do it again. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"I am the _stupidest_ person in the _entire_ world," Felicity groaned, face still burning. "Your mom is gonna hate me- probably already does hate me- _you_ probably hate me- I don't see why you give me the time of day, much less be my boyfriend-"

"Hey, Felicity, stop it," Oliver told her firmly. He lifted up her face so that she was looking at him and brushed her hair out of her eyes with his free hand. "You are remarkable. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise- including yourself."

"Thank you for remarking that," Felicity murmured, sitting up a little.

"Now!" Oliver cried, cracking his knuckles and sending her a wink. "These cookies aren't gonna decorate themselves."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Leonard and Roy were already at the diner when Sara pulled up. "Thea's still not here?" she asked, frowning as she got out of the car. "I was just talking to her before I left and she said she was heading out soon."

Roy shrugged. "It's Thea," he said. "She's probably fixing her hair."

It was about then that Sara noticed what Roy was wearing. "Uh... what's with the cast?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "Did you slip on ice or something?"

Roy smirked. "Or something," he said mysteriously.

Sara made a face at him and Leonard snorted. "He promised to tell us when Thea gets here," he told her. "If she ever gets here."

"I'm hungry," Roy sighed grumpily. "Let's go get a table and then Thea can join us-"

"I'm here, I'm here, sorry!" Thea called, skidding to a stop in front of them and panting for a couple moments. "I got lost," she said apologetically. "My GPS is really weird."

"I'm hungry," Roy complained again. "Let's go inside and get food."

"Someone's grumpy," Thea commented, looping her arm through her boyfriend's as they walked inside. "Especially for the person who wanted to do this in the first place."

"Second place," Roy corrected. "This was _your_ idea in the first place."

She sighed and glanced over her shoulder, rolling her eyes in Sara's direction.

It was long before they were seated in booths (Leonard and Sara on one side and Thea and Roy facing them) with menus in front of them. "Okay," Sara said immediately. "I'm dying. Tell me how you got your cast, Roy."

"Well," Thea started, placing her hand on Roy's good arm. "Roy saved my life, actually."

Leonard's eyebrows went up. "As... _interesting_ as I'm sure this story is, why don't we look at the menus and pick out what we're going to eat first?" he suggested. "Then we can here the tale of how Roy Harper became a night in shining armor."

Roy sent him a glare so dark that Sara was slightly concerned for the safety of her boyfriend. "I'm getting pancakes," she declared quickly, scanning over the menu.

"Well that was fast," Leonard said dryly, turning a page.

He ended up picking a breakfast burrito, while Thea got the eggs benedict and Roy got a BLTC without the T. Then they settled back with their ice waters and listened to Roy and Thea's rendition of what happened on New Years Eve.

When they got to the part about Thea distracting Roy from the needle by kissing him, Sara squealed so loudly that half the room looked over. "Sorry," she stage-whispered, chagrined. "I'm actually a total fangirl too I just hide it."

Leonard snorted and shook his head. "So you two finally kissed," he said, nodding his approval.

"Uh huh!" Thea cried. "Now all that's left is for you and Sara to kiss and the Three Stars of Orion will all have their kisses with their one true boyfriends."

There was a long silence. "I'm confused on about three of the different things you just said," Roy said.

Thea sighed theatrically. "The Three Stars of Orion is Iris, Sara and I's group chat name because we upgraded it from 'School Girls' because it was lame," she explained patiently. "Iris has kissed Barry, I've kissed you, and now Leonard and Sara need to kiss. One true love felt too dramatic so I went with boyfriend. Clear?"

"Clear," he agreed, taking a long sip of water. "As clear as things could ever be with you."

She elbowed him playfully, smiling. Their interaction, at least, took care of the sudden awkwardness both Sara and Leonard were feeling, but it only lasted for a moment. Silence fell.

"Um, I'm going to go use the bathroom," Sara said, standing up quickly and giving Thea a significant eyebrow raise. "Buddy system?"

The phrase 'Buddy System' was Thea, Sara, and Iris' code for when they wanted to talk in private, without attracting attention.

Thea took another sip of her water. "Sure thing," she agreed, pecking Roy on the cheek before sliding out of her own booth to join Sara. Roy blushed, than quickly looked down to hide it, and the two girls walked toward the bathroom.

"What's up?" Thea asked when they were a safe distance away.

"Look, I get that you're just playing matchmaker and you were trying to be funny and all of that," Sara said, slowing down outside of the bathroom and glancing over her shoulder to make sure neither of the boys were eavesdropping. "But, like, Leonard and I haven't really talked about the whole kissing thing yet."

"But _Sara_," Thea groaned. "You two have literally been dating since Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, I know," Sara mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. "Like, I want to kiss him, obviously, he's just... well, he's not very good with touching, you know? It took him awhile to be comfortable with a hug or holding my hand and... what we have is good. I don't want to ruin it."

"Kissing doesn't ruin it, Sara," Thea told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Seriously, I don't mean to act all wise or anything now that Roy and I have finally kissed but like... there's something about it that's just so-"

"I know, Thea!" Sara cried. "I've kissed someone before, remember? Nyssa? I mean, I've never kissed a _guy _before but I can't imagine that it's terribly different. Point being, I know what it's like and I know how it feels. I just don't want to scare him away, okay? That's it. I don't want to scare Leonard away by moving to fast or doing things when we aren't ready."

Thea blinked, taken aback. "Oh," she said. "Oh, okay. I... Sorry, Sara, I didn't mean to upset you or anything."

"Whatever," Sara sighed. "Look, I don't want this to ruin our afternoon, okay? But just, like... drop the kissing thing."

"Yeah, of course," Thea agreed immediately.

"Now, I actually have to use the bathroom so see ya." Sara turned and walked into the ladies room, and Thea went back to the table.

"What were you and Sara doing?" Roy asked, frowning in confusion. "I thought you were going to use the bathroom but you were just talking in the hallway."

"Just needed to fangirl about your adorableness for a moment," Thea replied smoothly, smiling as Roy stuttered something unintelligible and hurriedly drank more water.

Leonard gave her a suspicious look, but he didn't push it. Sara soon came back from the bathroom, gushing to Thea about how they had salts in the bathroom that she _needed_ to try, and _Wow, she was hungry, was anyone else hungry? 'Cause she was really hungry_, and things fell back to normal.

Thea didn't bring up the whole kissing thing again, and neither did Sara.

But that didn't mean that they didn't think about it.

**Author's Note: Heeeey, does anyone know where those lines in the Olicity scene are from? I got 'em straight from the show :D **


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Note: Another milestone! Chapter 30 everyone. Let's get back to AV High and start school up again! **

**(also, you may have noticed I didn't post last week... I'm going to start posting a new chapter every ****_other_**** Friday instead of once a week, so that I don't end up catching up to what parts of the story I'm writing now too quickly. Posting ended up going a lot faster than I'd ever expected haha)**

"Look, Kara, you've gotta talk to him," Alex said.

Kara, splayed out on her bed, pouted. "But I'm so nervous, Alex! What if he doesn't want to take me back? Or even talk to me?"

"Well, you'll never know until you try, do you?" Alex replied. She felt as though they were going in circles, considering they had gone over this same point already. Three times.

"Yeah but if I try and then it fails I'll know that it's hopeless," Kara argued. "If I never try I'll never be let down."

"...And you'll never get Mon-El back," Alex said slowly, squinting at her. "So either you _might_ lose him, or you'll _definitely_ lose him. Your choice."

Kara buried her face in her pillow. "I hate this," she mumbled. "Why did we have to fight?"

"Every couple fights," Alex sighed, moving across the room to sit on the bed next to her sister. "Every _person_ fights. If you have a strong relationship with someone you're bound to fight with them some time or other. It shows a level of comfort."

"Have you ever fought with Maggie?" Kara asked, turning back over.

Alex considered. "No," she admitted. "Because we aren't close enough for that. I've fought with Laurel plenty of times. Just like you've fought with Winn and Cisco."

"So fighting shows strength in a relationship?" Kara asked, frowning. "That doesn't seem right."

"No," Alex sighed, rubbing her face. "Fighting shows _comfort level_. You felt comfortable enough with Mon-El to be yourself and to tell him how you really feel. Of course there's better ways to do that then arguing with him but we all make mistakes. He does, too. Which is why you need to apologize when you see him and school starts up again. Got it?"

"Got it," Kara agreed. "I still don't wanna do it."

Alex sent her a look and she rolled her eyes. "But I'll talk to him!" she added quickly. "I promise."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

The first day back after New Years was reminiscent of the first day of school. Thea, Iris and Sara met each other squeals and giant hugs (disregarding the fact that Thea and Sara had seen each other _literally_ the day before), and Thea almost immediately launched into a rehashing of her and Roy's exciting New Years Eve date and life-rescue.

Iris was thrilled. "This. Is._ Amazing_," she gushed, practically vibrating with excitement. "Do you realize how _awesome_ of a story this is going to be to tell your kids?!"

Sara snorted. "Whooooa, slow down horsey. They just had their first kiss- they're not getting married."

"Yet," Thea grinned, bumping Iris' shoulder.

The talk eventually turned away from boys and toward some new excitement. "2 new kids," Iris informed the other girls as they walked to their lockers.

"You literally just got here, like, 4 minutes ago," Sara said, giving her an incredulous look. "How on _Earth_ do you know that there are new kids?"

Iris shrugged. "It's simple," she replied offhandedly. "I know everything."

"Okay, then spill the tea girl," Thea said, impatient for the news. "Who is it, what grade, names, gender, where are they from...?"

"Well, I don't know where they're from..." Iris started thoughtfully. "But one of them is a Junior and two one them is a Senior. Boy and a girl."

"Names?"

Iris frowned thoughtfully. "Uh... I think the girl is named Sam...? And then boy was... I can't quite remember. Maybe John? James? Jake?"

"Wait, who's the Junior?" Sara asked.

"Sam," Iris said, more confidently.

"Yeah?"

All three girls turned to see who had spoken. There was a girl standing behind them with long brown hair and a grey t-shirt. "Um... you said my name, right?"

"Oh!" Iris looked surprised. "You're Sam? One of the new students?"

Sam stuck her hands in her pockets. "Yeah, that's me."

"I'm Iris," the brunette introduced herself, shaking Sam's hand. "This is Sara and Thea."

"Hi," Sam replied, giving them a shy half-smile. "It's nice to meet you guys."

"How do you like the school so far?" Sara asked, bouncing on her toes. She liked to meet new people but she had a class in like five minutes and was ready to get her sprinting on.

"Well, I've only been here for like five minutes but it... seems nice," Sam replied with another shy smile and a shrug. "It's a nice location and... the people seem nice, too."

Thea smiled widely. "I will take that as a compliment!"

"You would," Sara teased. "Look, hate to cut this short but I've been late to History like _five_ times this year already-"

"Um, Sara, this is the first day back this year," Iris cut in, smirking.

"Very funny," Sara sassed, wrinkling her nose and starting to back away. "But anyway, I don't want Mr. Vandal Savage to murder me. Because I swear I think he wants to. Also, Barry and Cisco always give me disapproving looks when I get there late."

"You better scoot then, girlie," Iris grinned. "You know, since Barry and Cisco are so _incredibly_ scary."

"Hardy har har."

"Send Barry my love!" Iris called after her as Sara turned and jogged down the corridor. She turned to Thea and Sam. "I should actually be getting to class, too. What's your first class, Sam?"

Sam pulled out an already-crumpled piece of paper and glanced over her schedule. "Um... English."

"Okay, then you're with me," Thea grinned, taking her arm. "Come on, I'll introduce you to Kara and Winn!"

They set off down the hallway and Iris turned in the other direction and walked alone to her first class of the morning.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Kara took a deep breath as she straightened the straps of her backpack and rolled her shoulders. She had just come out of English, where she met Sam, the new student (who Thea somehow already knew), but now she was on to Algebra.

Mon-El was in her Algebra class. Which meant that she was going to have to look at him, sit next to him, and -_yes, Kara Danvers, you are doing it, this is non-negotiable_\- talk to him.

Kara took another deep breath as she reached the door and then walked quickly inside.

Mon-El was nowhere in sight.

Heart sinking, Kara looked around again, just to be sure. Was it possible that he wasn't here today? Would she have to go through _another_ almost sleepless night of stress and anticipation?!

"Can I take a guess and say you're looking for me?"

Kara spun around and let out a giant breath of relief. "Mon-El!" she cried, forgetting to be nervous or awkward. "Oh thank goodness you're here; I really needed to talk to you. Look- I'm sorry. I ruined everything and we missed our first Christmas together. Of course gifts don't matter, it was totally stupid."

Mon-El shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Honestly, it was my fault," he admitted. "I totally over-reacted. In truth, I'm not used to thinking about other people that much. So getting you a Christmas gift just kind of... slipped my mind. I really should have, though, that would have been the 'good boyfriend' thing to do." He shrugged again. "So I'm... sorry, too."

"It's okay," Kara replied, relived beyond belief that this had gone so well. "I guess we both kinda screwed up. Friends again?"

Mon-El glanced up and frowned. "Friends?"

Kara grinned. "It's an expression," she said, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. "We are much more than friends. One stupid argument isn't going to change that."

"Good," Mon-El replied, shoulders relaxing. "That's good to know."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

At the end of the day, Kara found herself standing outside of a door on the third floor of AV High. In front of her hung a handwritten sign with the words "AV News" on it.

It had been Snapper Carr's idea for her to get involved with the school newspaper. He said that the report she had written over Christmas break was "surprisingly alright, get on that", and so here she was, ready to sign up.

A little nervous, Kara knocked on the door. She stood awkwardly in front of it, waiting.

Instead of someone coming from the inside, a lean girl with long, dark hair squeezed passed her. "Hi," the girl said, opening the door and knocking it open with a foot. Her arms were full with a pile of newspaper paper, and she had a pencil sticking behind into her hair.

Despite the full load, the girl looked incredibly put together. She was wearing a fuchsia button down collard shirt and high waisted black skinny jeans. Her hair was perfectly parted down the center and flawlessly straight. Kara was impressed. If she had been in the girls position she would have looked a rumpled mess and been incredibly awkward.

"Sorry, we're you trying to get in? I think it was unlocked," the girl continued, already heading inside. "I'm Lena Luther, editor of AV News."

She had already managed to put down her papers and turned around with a practiced smile, holding out her hand to Kara.

Kara shook it, shoving her glasses us with her other hand. "Hi," she greeted. "Uh, I'm Kara Danvers. Mr. Carr recommended that I come and check out the school newspaper so... here I am!"

"Come on in," Lena invited, and Kara scurried inside and shut the door. "Are you a writer?"

Kara nodded. "I like to do interviews," she said. "I like hearing about peoples stories."

Lena pulled a face. "Not a ton of people to interview for a high school newspaper," she told Kara. "But I'm sure we could use you somewhere. People aren't exactly flocking here."

Kara glanced around. The room was pretty empty as a whole, and, as Lena had implied, there was no one there.

"We used to have meetings after school," Lena continued. "But then people got to busy with sports and everything. So I mostly just organize what the paper with look like and then email everyone what they need to supply. We post a new edition bi-monthly, so you have about two weeks to prepare. Sound good?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," Kara agreed. "Here, I can just write down my email for you, one sec..."

She trailed off, looking around for something to write it on. Somehow still incredibly prepared, Lena reached behind her and pulled out a stack of pale blue sticky notes and a pen. "Here," she said, offering it to Kara. "I'll send you an email tonight to make sure it goes through and I'll fill you in on what's going on in the current edition."

She paused, titling her head and looking Kara over as she scribbled her email on the sticky note. "You said your name was Kara Danvers?"

"Uh, yeah," Kara replied, reaching up to straighten her glasses.

"I think that Mr. Carr mentioned you to me a couple weeks ago," Lena said thoughtfully, taking the paper and pen back. "He is the last person to check over our newspaper before we publish, just to make sure I don't miss anything. I usually don't, but there's some sort of school rule that needs an adult to look over everything. Probably a content filter, too, just in case I suddenly got immature and let something inappropriate slide."

Kara laughed a little and Lena cracked a smile. "I'll shoot you an email tonight," she said. "Also, if you know of any good photographers, let me know. We had one for the first semester but she transferred during Winter break. Sometimes I honestly think that people only look at the pictures, so the person's gotta be good."

"Okay," Kara agreed, taking the hint that her impromptu interview was over. "I'll keep my eyes open."

Lena nodded. "Bye, Kara," she said as the blond began heading for the door. "It was nice meeting you. I look forward to your first article!"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Winn was sitting in the gym, waiting for the bus to pick him up, when none other than James Olsen walked across the room and sat down next to him.

Winn squinted thoughtfully. "Hello..." he greeted. "You... don't look familiar. And that may sound odd but this school is incredibly small and I know like everyone here so who are you?"

"Uh, James," the tall Senior introduced himself. "James Olsen. And yeah, I just transferred here. This is actually my first day."

"Oh, well, welcome to AV High," Winn grinned. "I'm Winn Schott."

They sat for a moment in silence, Winn still secretly wondering why James had come over. Was it because he was by himself? Did he really have an approachable face like Kara always said? Or...?

The "Or" seemed to be it, because James quickly launched into a new conversation. "So... Winn," he said. "I couldn't help but notice that you spend a lot of time with that blond girl."

"Kara?" Winn frowned, confused. "Or Felicity?"

"Uh, the one with the glasses," James shrugged.

"They both have glasses."

"The pretty one."

Winn cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. Goodness gracious, what was it about Kara Danvers that made people fall head over heels for her on sight? "Um... you probably mean Kara," he said, pulling out his phone and showing James a picture for confirmation.

"Yeah, her," James confirmed, face breaking into a smile.

They fell into silence. Almost afraid to ask, Winn glanced over at James. "Uh, so... what about her?"

"You guys seem to be... close," James shrugged.

Winn let out a sigh. He was over Kara (most days, at least), but he was getting rather sick of people asking him about her. No new guy that laid eyes on her was interested in being buds with him... just getting close to her.

"Yes, I'm friends with Kara," Winn said. "She's my best friend and we are not together and we have never been together and we're never going to be together. Answer all your questions?"

James nodded, looking embarrassed. "Do you... get this often?"

Winn shrugged. "More then I should," he admitted. "But whatever man, it's just questions."

Winn's head popped up as he heard his bus number being called. Relieved to get out of the conversation, he grabbed his bad and slung it over his shoulder. "Seeya later," he called to James as he headed towards the door, leaving the other boy to think over the answers he had been given.

**Author's Note: Soooo a pretty Kara centric chapter (heh I just wrote episode whoops XD) but I'm just setting up a couple of plots for continuing chapters at the moment. **

**Poor Winn OMG XD But honestly... he's like one of the only guys POVs I actually do chapters from so HE'S AT LEAST IMPORTANT TO ME XD**


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Note: Ahhh I have this really good idea for a plot point but it's also kind of dark butttt I think imma do it anyway because they're superheroes and-**

**well, I don't wanna spoil too much but it should make for an exciting chapter or two :)**

On Friday, Kara was headed towards the school newspaper room to talk to Lena when she bumped into someone on the stairs. Her pencil and notebook tumbled out of her hand and she knelt down in the middle of the stairs, frantic to scoop it up.

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry," a voice from above said, and Kara glanced up.

"It's alright," she told the unfamiliar boy standing above her in the stairs, straightening up with her objects re-claimed.

"I'm James," James introduced himself, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Hi, I'm Kara," Kara greeted, shaking his hand. "You're new here, right?"

"Yeah," James agreed. "People can spot a new kid a mile away, huh?"

"I know a lot of people at this school," Kara shrugged. "I mean, there aren't many to know. So yeah, new faces kind of stick out." She glanced at her watch. "Look uh... I'm meeting Lena Luthor to talk about an article in like two minutes so I kind of need to get to the newspaper room. Sorry, I don't mean to run off on you."

"Oh, you work for the school newspaper?" James asked casually, moving aside so that Kara could get by him on the stairs. Unsuspecting girl she was, she didn't notice that he had been walking on the wrong side of the stairs (or that it had been purposeful).

"Yeah, I just started," Kara told him. She smiled. "You don't happen to be a photographer, do you?"

James eyebrows went up. "Uh yeah, actually I love photography. Why?"

Kara grinned. "You doing anything important at the moment?"

James shrugged. "Just heading to free period. Again... why?"

"Come on," Kara urged, starting up the stairs. "I have someone you need to meet."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Like her sister, Alex had just accidentally run into AV High's new female Junior. Sam Arias was barreling down the hallway, her face covered by her schedule paper, when she smacked directly into Alex.

"Oh!" Sam gasped, leaping back to her feet. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry."

Alex, unable to resist laughing, straightened up. "It's fine," she grinned, shaking her head in amusement. "Where're you heading in such a rush?"

"Uh, I just wanted to get to my next class before it starts," Sam said. "Except for the class that Iris showed me to, I've basically been late to all of them since I arrived." She sighed, before putting on a smile and holding out her hand to Alex. "I'm Sam Arias... I'm a new student here."

Alex nodded. "I know," she told Sam with a smile, shaking her hand. "News of new kids gets around fast, especially since you've already met Iris and Thea. Once they know something, everyone knows something."

Sam laughed. "Remind me not to tell them anything I want to be kept a secret," she said.

Laurel and Maggie came around the corner, talking. Laurel nodded over at the two of them. "Hey, Alex! And... Sam, right?"

"Yeah," Sam said, looking self-conscious again. "Gosh it's weird when everyone knows your name yet you know _no one_."

"Well, I wouldn't say no one," Alex smiled. "You know me. And that's Laurel and Maggie."

Laurel and Maggie waved.

"What's your next class?" Alex asked, peering over Sam's shoulder. "I could walk you there if you want."

Sam looked concerned. "Oh, I don't want you to be late, though," she protested.

Alex grinned. "Trust me," she said, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder. "I have had my fair share of hectic mornings and afternoons running through hallways to get to classes. I've gotten pretty good at it."

Sam laughed, and allowed Alex to lead her to her next class.

Maggie and Laurel, left standing in the hallway, watched them go. Laurel glanced over at her friend. "What's that look?" she asked, squinting curiously.

"What?" Maggie snapped, quickly looking away from Sam and Alex's retreating forms. "What look?"

"The look that basically says that _you'd_ like to be the new girl with Alex's arm around you showing you to your next class," Laurel replied, smirking.

"What?" Maggie repeated, cheeks rapidly darkening. "That's ridiculous, Laurel. One facial expression can not _possibly_ say all that."

Laurel snorted. "I was paraphrasing," she deflected. "Point being, _you're jealous_. And I really don't see why."

"Exactly, it's stupid," Maggie huffed. "So it's obviously _not_ what I was thinking."

"Look, Maggie," Laurel sighed, taking the other girls arm and starting to lead her down the hall in the opposite direction as Alex and Sam. "You and Alex have a pretty complicated relationship. You were friends, you led her on without thinking that she would take any of the flirting or teasing seriously, she told you she liked you and you shut up like a clam. It's been months since all that happened, though. You'd think that Alex would have moved on. But she hasn't."

Maggie glanced up sharply. "She hasn't?"

"No, she hasn't," Laurel repeated. "And what's more, you haven't either. Because I think that deep down, you really like her. You _do_ want to be with her. Yeah, you made a pretty rash decision telling her that's not how you felt but how she feels hasn't changed. She's still waiting for you, and honestly? I think there's still a chance that the two of you could work out."

"Come on, Laurel," Maggie groaned. "I told her no. I told her I didn't like her as more then I friend. I was so _weird_ about it for like a month. Now to take that all back and say I _do_ like her... not only is that totally mixed messages but it's just not fair. I shouldn't just be dating Alex when it's convenient for me."

"No," Laurel allowed. "But you should be listening to your heart. You weren't sure how you felt so early on in the year. You guys have spent more time together and gotten to know each other more. It's only fair to assume that feelings can change."

"So, what," Maggie said. "You think I should just... ask her out?"

"I don't know, Maggie," Laurel shrugged. "It's your life; it's your relationship. You should _definitely_ make sure you're ready before you jump in because pulling back after saying that you want to date her would _not_ go over well."

She shrugged again, letting go of Maggie's arm as they stopped out front of her class. "I dunno. Just think about it?"

Maggie sighed and glanced back down the hall where they had last seen Alex. "Yeah," she agreed, starting to open the door to head into the classroom. "I'll think about it."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"When I said to look out for a photographer I had no idea that you'd get me one so quickly," Lena said, looking James up and down with a wide smile.

Kara had just turned in her very first completed article for the school newspaper (something fairly simple about the robotics team's upcoming competition, a team which both Winn and Cisco happened to be on, giving her the inside scoop). She had asked James to help her out and take some pictures, and he had been more than eager to comply.

Lena was delighted. "If this was a real newspaper I would hire you immediately," she told James. "I can't pay you but I'd love to have you here regardless."

James nodded, grinning. "Thanks," he said. "I appreciate it. I'd love to help Kara put pictures in more of her great articles."

Kara beamed and Lena nodded. "Well, I'm going to need you to get pictures for more than just Kara," she warned James. "You are our only photographer at the moment."

A little more subdued, James nodded. "Yeah, of course," he agreed. "Just... let me know when I'm needed and I'll try to be there."

Lena's chin dipped. "Thank you," she said sedately. "We appreciate you being here."

There was an awkward silence.

"Welllll..." Kara spoke up finally. "I gotta head out and go do some worky stuff. You'll let me know when you need another article, right Lena? I had a lot of fun with this one."

"Of course," Lena nodded. "You as well, James."

They left the room.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

It was midmorning on Tuesday and Kara, Mon-El and Sara were all in Algebra. Mrs. Astra was droning on and on about how to solve systems with three unknowns when the sudden sound of a gunshot rang out.

Everyone went completely silent. Kara's eyes were almost as wide as her glasses as she exchanged terrified expressions with Mon-El. Astra got to work immediately.

"Everyone line up on the wall," she said, her voice surprisingly steady. "_Now_."

Everyone abandoned their text books, pencils, and miscellaneous other school supplies and hurried in perfect silence to the wall farthest away from the door. Kara and Mon-El slid down the wall next to each other and Sara took a spot next to Kara. Her face was white and Kara reached over to squeeze her hand. "Hey, you okay?"

Sara nodded shakily. "I hope Laurel's okay," she whispered.

Kara's chin dipped, her face falling. She couldn't seem to remember what class Alex had today; where in the building she was. She squeezed Sara's hand again. "I'm sure they'll be okay," she whispered. "Everything will be okay."

Mrs. Astra, who was sitting at the end of the line of her students, leaned forward and placed a finger to her lips. Kara leaned against Mon-El, squeezed her eyes shut, and waited.

In a different hallway on a different floor, someone else was worrying about their sister. Laurel was pressed into the corner of the Senior's AP physics room, Maggie on her left and Leonard on her right. John Diggle was a couple people down, arms wrapped around his knees and staring rigidly at the door.

"C'mon Sara," Laurel muttered, staring with trembling hands at the text she had just sent her sister. "Say you're okay. Say you're okay."

"She might not be allowed to have her phone out," Maggie whispered, barely making a sound in the silent room.

Leonard reached out and awkwardly patted Laurel's knee. "I know," he muttered, stoic. "I'm worried, too."

Maggie curled into a ball and tucked her chin to her knees, realizing the only person on her mind was _Alex_.

Alex was currently in her English class, with Oliver Queen sitting next to her. "Someone needs to go out," he muttered. "And check the bathrooms."

"Yeah," Alex whispered back, her voice hoarse. "And that person _isn't_ you."

He pulled a face. "Yeah? And what if Kara was out in the hall when the gunshot went off. Wouldn't you go out?"

"_Stop it_," Alex hissed. "Just- _stop_."

They were silent for a second before Oliver put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "That was a stupid thing to say. I'm worried about Thea, too."

Alex grit her teeth and nodded, and the two of them stayed silent.

Thea, Iris and Barry were all clumped together on the floor in their history class. "If I had to be stuck in a hostage situation with anybody," Thea whispered theatrically. "I'm glad it's you two."

"Don't be dramatic, Thea," Iris reprimanded, gripping Barry's hand. He had his eyes squeezed shut at his head tilted back against the wall.

"I'm sorry," Thea muttered. "I get theatrical when I'm scared."

Iris didn't reply, just reached out and took her hand, too.

"I swear," Thea continued, ducking her head to her knees. "If Ollie or Roy or Sara or- or anyone get hurt I'm gonna- I'm gonna find this stupid shooter myself and kick his-"

"Shhhh," Vandal Savage, their history teacher, shushed her. "Mrs. Queen, please be silent. This is not a joke."

Thea let out a soft whimper and planted her face on Iris' shoulder. But the reprimand shut her up and she didn't speak again.

In the Chemistry classroom right next door, Caitlin, Cisco and Julian were all clumped together on the floor. It had seemed like the gunshot had come from very close buy, but Julian was mumbling to himself, trying to logic his way out of thinking that.

"It probably echoed," he muttered. "It probably echoed. Maybe it was in- in the staircase. Or right below us. It probably echoed."

Caitlin tucked herself into his side and he hugged her tightly, shaking.

In truth, the bullet had gone off right on top of their heads, a couple lockers down the hall from the biology classroom, where Winn, Roy, Sam and Felicity where all located. Felicity had screamed when the bullet went off her her face was still bright red as she huddled next to Winn and tried to stay quiet.

"I shouldn't have screamed," she babbled under her breath. "Now he knows I'm here. Or she. I mean, he or she probably already know I'm here. Not me specifically but just like me as in because I'm a student and-"

"Hey." Surprisingly, it was Roy that reached over and nudged her shoulder. "I know you're scared but he or she probably knew you were here anyway. I wouldn't worry too much, okay?"

Felicity nodded and suddenly she started crying. Winn put his arm around her. "Shhhh," he murmured, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "You gotta stay quiet."

Roy sat back and leaned his head against the wall, swallowing back his own fear and worry and trying not to think about the what-ifs.

Barry, Iris and Thea, who were on the first floor, had been sitting for at least a half hour in complete silence when there was a knock on the classroom door.

Thea gasped and hid her face. Barry tightened his grip on Iris' shoulders, looking ready to dive in front of a bullet if that was necessary.

Another knock, which seemed oddly light for a gun-carrying-possibly-student-murderer, filled the silence. "Mr. Savage?" came a voice. "It's Principal Berlanti."

Recognizing both the name and the voice of AV High's principal, Vandal Savage slowly stood up and walked toward the door. Thea started to shake all over.

"Calm down," Iris whispered. "It's Principal Berlanti, it'll be okay."

"I can't- I can't stop," Thea whimpered, looking like she was going to cry. Iris tucked her into her other side and both of them held their breath as Mr. Savage slowly opened up the door.

"Hi." Principal Berlanti said, his smile kind as he looked over the terrified students pressed against the wall. "Can I come in?

**Author's Note: Sksksksk I thought that plot point would last me wayyyyy longer than it did. **

**But hey I'll get probably another chapter out of it. It's good. We good XD**


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's Note: Annnnd school shooting part two, everyone :) **

Even though it was only 1:00, everyone was filtering out of school and parents were being called. Principal Berlanti and Vice Principal Kreisberg had gone to each of the classrooms individually to let everyone know that there was no longer a threat and they were safe to get up and come outside.

Iris, Barry, and Thea had been the first class told and the first class to get out. Thea paced anxiously until Roy walked out the door, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his shoulders lazily back as if he he was about to play hooky instead of having just gone through school lockdown.

"Roy!" Thea cried, racing forward and throwing herself at him.

Though he tried to look impassive, Roy wrapped his arms around her, _tight_. "Thea," he whispered, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Thea held it together until she saw Oliver, but as soon as her brother wrapped her up in a hug she burst into sobs. "I was so- so- so- scared that s-something had h-_happened_," she wailed. "T-To you o-or Roy o-or Saraaaa..."

"Don't be silly," Sara said, walking over and relieving an alarmed Oliver of his sobbing sister. "I'm just fine honey, and so is everyone else."

Thea buried her face in Sara's shoulder and continued to cry.

Twelve seconds later, however, Sara passed her off to Iris and thew herself at Laurel. "You're okay!" she cried, hugging her tightly. "Oh my gosh, I was so worried."

"I texted you!" Laurel exclaimed. "You didn't answer. Honest to goodness I was _terrified_."

"I didn't think to check my phone," Sara groaned. "I'm so sorry, Laurel."

"It's okay, I'm just glad you're safe," Laurel said, hugging her again.

There was a tap on Sara's shoulder and she looked up. Leonard smirked down at her. "Glad to see you were worried about me, too."

Sara stuck her tongue out at him. "Pfft, me? Worried? _Never_."

He grinned and she hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you're okay," she said seriously after pulling back. She glanced over at Laurel. "Both of you. All of us."

The last couple of people had filtered out of the building. Kara was busy giving Alex a giant hug when Principal Berlanti cleared his throat and did the awkward school-clapping sequence to get everyone to quiet down.

"Sorry," he called out over the crowd with a smile. "I don't have a microphone."

Dozens of pale, tired faces blinked back at him and he smiled again. "I'm sure you are all wondering what exactly happened this afternoon. I understand that that was a very scary experience, and we are offering counseling to anyone who needs it. Counseling is not something any of you should be ashamed of accepting, so please, take us up on our offer if you feel like you need to."

There were a couple of murmurs from the kids but the teachers scattered throughout the assembly shushed them.

"Anyway, back to what happened this afternoon," Principal Berlanti said. "The sound that you all heard was a gunshot. A very confused, very upset kid thought it would be a good idea to bring his father's gun to school and show it off to his friends. He accidentally fired the weapon. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the situation was dealt with quickly. I want to commend all of you on your quick moving and how quiet and calm you stayed during the past hour. I can imagine it wasn't easy for you at all, and all of us really do appreciate how easy you were. So thank you."

He clapped his hands together, and a weak round of a applause echoed around the front of the school. When it faded, he started to speak again. "The secretary and Vice Principal Kreisberg are currently working on contacting your parents. If you'd like to speed the process along, please feel free give them a call. I would ask that you and your parents come and check in before you leave, for safety's sake."

Julian sighed and Caitlin glanced over at him. "What's up? I mean other than we were just on lockdown and theoretically could have died."

Julian cracked a weak smile. "Principal Berlanti just assumes that our parents are gonna come pick us up."

"Oh, Julian," Caitlin sighed, reaching an arm around his waist and letting her head drop to his shoulder. "We'll bring you home, okay? And if my parents don't show up we can just ask Mrs. Ramon."

He shrugged, bobbing her head a little with the movement of his shoulder. "Yeah. I guess it's more the principal of the thing, y'know?"

Kids around them were starting to pull out their phones and call their parents. Julian did the same, and soon there were cars pulling up and parents were rushing to find their kids and make sure they were okay.

Felicity's mom was one of the first to arrive. Donna Smoak came barreling out of her car and crashed into Felicity, hugging her with force of about three aircraft carriers. Felicity groaned and hugged her mother back tightly. "I'm okay, mom, really," she wheezed, trying to wriggle out of the hug once she felt like her ribs were going to crack. "No one got hurt; it was just some stupid kid showing off his dad's gun."

Donna pulled back and sniffled slightly. "I realize that now, honey, but when you get a news report that your daughter's school is on lockdown because of a shooting, you have no idea _what_ to think."

"I know," Felicity allowed, hugging her again. "I'm so sorry. How 'bout we just head home and forget this whole thing, huh?"

The two of them walked off to their car. Felicity waved to Winn, who was standing with Kara, Alex, and Mon-El as they waited for their parents.

"That was easily the craziest thing I've even been through," Winn admitted as he kept his eye open for his mom's beat up car. "And while it certainly will make for an exciting story, I hope that never happens ever again."

"You can say that again," Kara mumbled, leaning her head on Mon-El's shoulder.

She soon had to say a quick goodbye to her boyfriend as Eliza Danvers came charging up from the parking lot with about the same reaction as Donna had. Alex and Kara were soon getting into their moms car and being driven home.

Thea and Oliver were picked up by Rasia, Mrs. Queen being in a meeting with her company and hadn't even seen the news. Their housekeeper gave them giant hugs that squeezed all the air out of their lungs, and she lead them away sniffling quietly and covertly wiping some tears off of her cheeks.

Julian was shocked when _both_ of his parents rolled up in their Lexus and came charging out of the car towards him. "Oh my goodness, Julian," his mother gushed, grabbing him in a hug. "We- we saw it all on the news, we were so worried-"

"You were... worried?" Julian pulled back slightly, shocked.

His mother nodded, pulling him back into her arms again. "So, so, _so_ worried."

It had been a long day for Julian, and this was the last straw. He burst into tears, face buried in his mom's neck. Caitlin, who had never seen him cry before, watched the scene with concerned, loving, and slightly surprised eyes.

Julian's dad reached over and rubbed his back. "C'mon, son," he said, his British accent even clearer than Julian's in the deepness of his voice. "Let's take you home."

Caitlin waved a weak goodbye to Julian and his parents as they quickly ushered him across the grass and toward their car. Cisco walked over and rested his elbow on her shoulder. She gave him an unamused look but he just grinned.

Iris and Barry walked over. Barry gave Caitlin and Cisco quick hugs and the four of them stood in a quiet half-circle, watching the throng of kids slowly filter away.

"I wonder if Joe heard what was going on at CCPD?" Barry mused aloud.

Iris shrugged and let out a yawn. "Well, I just hope he gets here soon. I'm tired and honestly? I just want to go home."

"I feel that," Cisco agreed, holding his hand out for a fist-bump. He sighed. "Bet if it were Dante my mom would have been here five hours ago."

"Oh Cisco." Caitlin reached over and patted his shoulder. "The lockdown hadn't even started five hours ago."

He shrugged. "My point exactly."

His mother did show up, however, and dragged him away with copious amounts of fondling, hugging, and worried questioning. And soon after that, Joe showed up to take Iris and Barry home.

"Do you need a ride?" Joe asked Caitlin, after he had given her a hug too. "We can take you home."

Caitlin sighed softly and looked down at her watch. She had been sitting here for nearly a half hour without a single text from her mom. "Do you mind if I just... call her real quick?"

"No, no, go ahead," Joe said, nodding Iris and Barry toward the car.

Caitlin walked a couple feet away and clicked on her mom's contact. Her phone rang as she paced a little, waiting.

"_Hi, you have reached the phone of Doctor-_"

Caitlin hung up before the voicemail finished, feeling unexpected tears stinging her eyelids. Her mom was just working, as usual. She was probably in the lab with her phone on Do Not Disturb. It wasn't as if she had seen the school shooting and decided not to show up.

Sniffling once and straightening her spine, Caitlin spun on her heel and walked quickly back to Joe. "Would you be able to give me a ride home?" she asked, voice stoically neutral. "I would really appreciate it."

"Of course," Joe said, putting a comforting hand on Caitlin's shoulder. She quickly moved away, feeling the tears burning again and forcing her to take a deep, steady breath.

The two of them walked to the car. Barry was in the front seat with Iris sitting behind him, and Caitlin slid into the seat behind the driver. Iris' eyes darkened with sympathy and she put her arm around Caitlin's shoulders. Barry reached back and patted her knee. None of them said a word as Joe pulled out of the parking lot and started to drive Caitlin home.

"Can you get in?" Joe asked as he drove slowly along Caitlin's crushed-rock driveway and toward her house. "It looks a little dark."

"Yeah," Caitlin assured him. "I have a key in my backpack. Usually I get here before my mom anyway."

Iris squeezed her in a quick side-hug and she hugged back. "Thank you for bringing me home," she said to Joe. "I'll see you guys... well, whenever school gets restarted I guess."

"Bye, Cait," Barry called as she got out of the car. "See you later."

Caitlin waved halfheartedly and walked towards her front door. She watched Joe's car pull out of her driveway before going inside. There was a certain amount of numbness inside of her at the moment. She was drained from today and hurt that her mother had been probably the only parent of a student at AV High not sick from worry.

In truth, there was another parent that hadn't shown up. Leonard Snart was still sitting on the front steps of his high school when the last student trickled away. Principal Berlanti walked down from where he was standing with the Vice Principal and the Secretary. "Mr. Snart," he called.

"Leonard," Leonard correct. "Mr. Snart is my dad."

"Speaking of your dad," Berlanti said, taking the opportunity to segue into what he wanted to say. "Is he coming to pick you up this afternoon?"

"Probably not," Leonard shrugged. He was tired. He wanted to go home. He wanted to hug Sara again. What he _didn't_ want was to have a talk with Principal Berlanti about his father.

"I can ask one of the teachers if they would be able to drive you-" the principal started.

Leonard stood up. "Thanks," he muttered. "But I'll just walk."

"Leonard." Principal Berlanti stood up with him and put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from walking away. "If there's anything... going on... that a responsible adult should know about... please don't hesitate to tell me, or any of your teachers."

"Yeah," Leonard grunted, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. "Thanks."

He began to walk slowly down the sidewalk, shifting his backpack into a more comfortable position to prepare for the long journey home.

It was then that his phone buzzed with an incoming call. Leonard glanced down and pulled the device out of his front pocket. _Sara_.

"Hey," he said casually when he picked up. "Making sure I didn't get locked back in school again?"

"Not funny, Len," Sara huffed. "And no, that's not why I called. I, um... well, I figured that you kinda might not have a ride 'cause, uh, you never seem to? So... Laurel and I are coming to pick you up. Where you at?"

A small smile slipped across Leonard's face. "Thank you, Sara," he said quietly. "I just left school."

"Okie dokie," Sara agreed. "We're on our way."

It only took about seven minutes (Laurel must have been speeding) for the two Lance sisters to pull up next to Leonard. Laurel pulled over and slapped on her hazards.

"Heyyyy," Sara greeted, hopping out of the car to give him a quick hug. It probably would have been longer, but Laurel was sitting there staring at them so they moved it along a bit. "I'll sit in the back with you."

Leonard nodded and shoved his backpack into the back seat, Laurel alone in front like a chauffeur.

"What's your address, Leonard?" she asked over her shoulder as she checked her mirrors and pulled back out into the road.

Leonard quickly gave his address and then stared out the window as they drove down the street. He didn't live very far from school, so the ride would be short. No one exactly knew what to say, so Sara just reached up to the front seat and turned on the radio.

In the five minute drive, the two Lance sisters somehow managed to change the station no less than nine times. Leonard was very near laughing when they flipped through the first fifteen stations and still couldn't find anything good to listen to.

"Everything's overplayed," Sara gripped, leaning over and putting her head on Leonard's shoulder. She had insisted on sitting in the middle, probably so that she could do exactly that. "There's no good music on anymore. What has the world come to?"

He reached over and patted her face, making her laugh and bat his hand away. Laurel glanced at them in the review mirror and shook her head. "This your house up ahead?" she asked Leonard as they began to near his address.

He straightened up and nodded. "You can just drop me off here," he told her nervously. "It's fine."

Laurel rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna pull into the driveway," she told him, putting on her blinker. "It's like a four foot difference."

Sara tilted her head, noticing how tense Leonard suddenly was. "Hey, you good?"

"I just... I don't want anyone to see you girls here," Leonard muttered, hurriedly unbuckling and opening the door before the car had even come to a full stop. "Thanks for the ride," he called to Laurel, before looking at Sara. "I'll call you, okay?"

"Hey, while I'm here, can I meet-" Sara's request was cut off as Leonard shut the door and hurried across his lawn to the back of the house. Her mouth pinched. "...Your father."

"Well that was odd," Laurel commented as she reversed out of the driveway. "You've got a _weird_ boyfriend, Sara."

"I know," Sara shrugged. "But I love him anyway."

Laurel glanced in the review mirror. "Love him, huh?"

Sara turned red and mumbled something that Laurel couldn't hear. Laurel just shook her head and let her be.

**Author's Note: Okay part of me feels like I should have done more with this plot.**

**There'll be like a _tiny_ bit more? But not much.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's Note: Good news- I've gotten re-inspired! Hopefully that means that I'll be able to finish up AV High and then start posting every week again :) :)**

**Also- sorry I forgot to post this on Friday... I uploaded the doc and then completely spaced. Don't know what happened tbh.**

The night after the school lockdown, Eliza, Alex and Kara had a quick dinner of pizza before all three of them went to bed. Alex was pleasantly occupied with being deeply asleep when she suddenly jerked awake at 2 am.

She blinked around the dark room, eyes already adjusted from being closed so long, trying to figure out what had awoken her. Normally, she would just think that she had woken up and go back to sleep, but she could have sworn she had heard something. Had a book fallen off her shelf? Had a tree branch hit her window? Was she experiencing some sort of phantom fear from the gunshot this afternoon?

Just as she was about to let it go and drop back off, she heard a soft thunk coming from her window. At the same moment, her eyes caught the sight of something small and grey hitting the glass and falling to the ground.

Bewildered, Alex tumbled out of bed and ran over to her window, almost tripping over her desk in the process. She peered outside.

The light from the streetlamp was pooling, half on her lawn and half on the sidewalk, but Alex couldn't make out much in the dark. She did, however, see a shadowy figured; petite, probably female, with long wavy hair. It looked like- but it couldn't be.

Alex stepped back from the window, weighing the pros and cons, safety wise, of going outside. After a moment her curiously won out, and she threw on a pair of black crocks and a fleece lined zip-up sweatshirt and crept out of her room.

Alex's stairs usually cracked at night when stepped on, but it wasn't the kind of creakiness where it was one stair that creaked and you could just step over it. She had no idea which one was going to make a noise and at what time so she just moved as slowly and carefully as possible toward the door.

After fumbling with the door and then realizing it was locked (in her defense it _was_ 2 in the morning), Alex stopped. She pulled out her phone from one of her sweatshirt pockets and dialed 911, not pressing call yet, but leaving her phone open in case she needed to at a later time. At least this way, if it was some sort of creeper in the yard, she had some backup.

Then she quietly opened the door and stepped outside.

The figure that Alex had seen though her window slowly turned away from her house and toward her.

"Hey," Alex said, eyes locked on none other than Maggie Sawyer. She suddenly wished that she had thought to put a bra on, and busied herself with turning off her phone and sticking it into her pocket. She figured she wouldn't need to call the police anytime soon.

Maggie had her hands clasped in front of her, giving Alex the impression that she was pleading, even though she hadn't said anything yet. "Hey, Alex," she spoke up finally. "Uh, sorry it's so late. Or, early. I probably should have called. Or just... waited until tomorrow. But I kind of got something into my head and I couldn't sleep and... yeah."

Alex took a few steps closer, wrapping her arms around herself. "What's up?" she asked, a little confused. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah, kinda." Maggie ran her fingers through her hair. "Um so... we could have died today."

"Yeah..." Alex said slowly.

"Yeah," Maggie echoed. "And it just- it got me thinking. We... we _had_ something earlier this year, and I refused to see it. I pushed you away and I hurt you and, well, I'm really sorry for that. But like... when you think you're going to die, it kind of puts things in perspective, you know? I sat there and watched Laurel and Leonard worry themselves sick over Sara, and I realized that the only person I was thinking of was- was _you_."

Alex's breath was gone. Her heartbeat was making her ears ring. She couldn't say anything as Maggie licked her lips and kept giving her that same pleading expression. "And I just kept thinking, like... our life is so short. The school year is almost halfway over. I don't- I don't want to lose what I have with you. We're young. I just wanna kiss the girls I wanna kiss, you know?"

Maggie and Alex's relationship had been at a standstill for so long that Alex felt like things were now moving at breakneck speed in comparison. She watched as Maggie stepped a little bit closer.

"So..." Alex's voice was faint. "Who- who exactly do you want to kiss?"

"I want to kiss you," Maggie murmured. "And I have for a really long time."

Alex hadn't realized how close they were until Maggie placed her hands on either side of Alex's face and closed the distance.

And that was how Alex Danvers found herself making out with Maggie Sawyer in the middle of her lawn, at 2 o'clock in the morning.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Wait, so, let me get this straight." Laurel was standing at her kitchen counter, holding a store-bought waffle cone stuffed with coffee heath bar ice cream. "She just showed up at 2 am and threw rocks at your window?"

"They were pebbles," Alex corrected, snickering. "Chill."

Normally, she would be uncomfortable with this type of interrogation. But in truth she hadn't been able to stop smiling since Maggie had kissed her the night before.

School had been canceled for the rest of the week, giving the students time to recover and have a bit of a break. Laurel thought that the only good way to "recover" was to eat ice cream, so she had Alex over and then bribed her with the cold treat until she spilled exactly what had happened with her and Maggie. Alex was starting to get the story down to a science, considering she had told Kara that morning, and an abridged version to her mother. Eliza hadn't exactly approved but she figured what was done was done and she was just glad her daughter was finally happy.

"Alright, fine, pebbles," Laurel amended, rolling her eyes. "So she threw pebbles at your window at 2 o'clock in the morning until you came down, and then professed her undying love for you?"

"No!" Alex planted her face in her hands. "Oh my gosh Laurel, stop embellishing."

"Like you didn't embellish when you told me the story."

"No, I did not!" Alex protested. "Literally everything I told you happened."

"Alex, those things don't happen in real life," Laurel scoffed. "I swear, that could be a Taylor Swift song. Heck, that could be an entire Taylor Swift _album_."

Alex laughed. This was probably the most Laurel had seen her smile all year.

"So when's your guys' first date?" Laurel asked, making Alex hold her cone so she could make her friend her reward for telling her the story.

"I'm not sure," Alex shrugged.

"Can I third wheel?"

Alex laughed again. "No," she said. "You'll be doing enough of that at school."

Laurel made a face. "Yeah, I suppose I will," she sighed. "Not like it'll be any different than normal. I mean, there was either flirtatiousness or some seriously unresolved tension between you two like _all the time_."

Alex huffed and looked at her, offended. "That's not true."

"It's kinda true."

Alex rolled her eyes and Laurel grinned, finishing up with Alex's cone and swapping it out for her own. They licked ice cream in silence for a moment, watching the rain fall outside.

"So, what happened after?" Laurel said finally. "Like, after you two kissed?"

Alex looked thoughtful. She hadn't been asked this yet. "Well, I looked in her in shock for awhile. And she was just kinda smiling nervously at me, waiting for my reaction. And then I said something stupid like 'so wait, I'm the girl you want to kiss?' And then she laughed and then I laughed and then she kissed me again and then I went inside."

Laurel nodded. "That sounds about right," she said. "Well, I think that this is going to be a _very_ long week for you if you have to wait all of these days to see Maggie."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Alex groaned. "I swear it's already felt like a year since I last saw her. I don't see how people do long distance relationships- I can barely handle seven _hours_."

Laurel laughed out loud. "Trust me, it gets easier," she assured Alex. "When Oliver and I first started dating the _weekend_ felt like forever but, you know, you start to get used to it after awhile."

"I don't know if I'll every get used to it," Alex admitted. "I don't want to."

Laurel grinned. "That's what they all say."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Alex was right about one thing: Laurel was third wheeling _just_ a bit when school restarted that Monday. Maggie and Alex spent their time bumping shoulders and exchanging smiles, fingers intertwined.

Being so open about their relationship brought them into a little bit of predictable trouble. The three of them were walking down the hall when a group of senior boys that looked like they belonged in a gang that would rob banks and ambush you in alleyways blocked their path.

"Jeez, Sawyer," the leader sneered. "If you wanted to hold someone's hand so badly you coulda just asked. There's about seven guys here that would be glad to do it. You don't need to stoop to another _girl_."

"Same with you, Danvers!" someone farther back called.

They were starting to draw a crowd and Laurel was getting annoyed. "Alright, children," she said as patronizingly as possible, getting in front of Maggie and Alex and pushing herself through the throng of tall boys. Males in generally tended to be slightly scared of her, a fact that she had used to her advantage many times. "Come on Alex, Maggie. AP Bio isn't going to learn itself."

The new couple followed her through the guys, leaving them to grumble at the lack of reaction and go on their way.

"You girls alright?" Laurel checked in, glancing back at Maggie and Alex once they were a safe distance away.

"Yeah," Maggie shrugged. "I think any LGTBQ person has had to deal with idiot homophobes at some point in their life."

Alex bumped their shoulders together. "You're worth it," she told her girlfriend sweetly.

Laurel pulled a face, but shook her head fondly. "I am going to be _so_ glad when the honeymoon phase is over," she muttered.

**Author's Note: HEY SO I stayed pretty true to the cannon start of Maggie and Alex! I've loved doing that with a few of my couples; it's made it a ton of fun (and less work for me haha). Tell me what you think! I've enjoyed doing this kind of character-centric chapters every once and awhile. I can see why they do it when they write shows. **


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Note: Well, a second ago AV High was at precisely 110,800 words, but then I went a wrote this and screwed it up XD**

**I felt bad that I posted late last week, so here's a chapter today instead of next week ;)**

Midterm tests had, predictably, started crushing everyone's spirits. AV High's students had just gotten off of Christmas vacation but were already longing for February break to begin.

So Kara was surprised to see Mon-El come out of the lunch line and towards the table she was at with a pep in his step. "Hey, guess what?" he began, placing his lunch trey down and sitting in the chair in front of it.

Winn and Kara were the only two currently at the lunch table. They brought lunches from home and, while they didn't have to wait in the lunch line (which was a definite perk), Kara found herself eyeing Mon-El's tater-tots with longing.

Winn, at least, had been listening. "What's up?" he asked, taking a contented bite of his homemade ham-and-cheese sandwich.

"So you probably heard that AV High is getting an exchange student from Spain, right?" Mon-El asked.

The two of them nodded.

"Yeah, so, he's gonna come live at our house!"

Kara looked horrified. "You're going to be going to Spain?"

"What? No!" Mon-El shook his head. "No, I don't know who's going to be exchanged with him. But my family signed up to have him stay at our house, and so he's coming! So I'll show him around school and stuff, and he'll hang with us."

"Fun!" Kara beamed, always happy to meet new friends.

"Dude that sounds awesome," Winn grinned. "How long is he staying?"

"I think for the rest of the school year. Probably'll leave before graduation."

"Oof, must be rough being away from your family for that long," Winn grimaced.

"But I'm sure that you and your parents will make him feel _very_ welcome," Kara said, patting Mon-El's arm. "Just like you make everyone feel welcome here at school every day."

"Aw, thanks Kara," Mon-El smiled, turning pink.

"_Cringe_," Winn coughed into his hand. "Uh, what? I didn't say anything."

The two of them rolled their eyes at him but stopped being so sappy, much to Winn's relief.

As usual, it didn't take long before the news of the new exchange student spread through the entire school. Thea sighed wistfully when she heard. "I remember the days when I would have been overjoyed at the thought of an exotic, possibly incredibly attractive new guy to flirt with," she reminisced. "But now I have a boyfriend and all of that is behind me."

Iris gave her a skeptical look. "Something tells me you're still hoping he's cute."

"Nope!" Thea proclaimed. "I would _never_ cheat on Roy, even just in my thoughts. I'll just find some very cute girl that's not you or Sara to ship him with and then do everything in my power to get them together."

"Right," Sara said, side-eyeing her. " 'Cause that's not weird or creepy at all."

"He's an exchange student," Iris reminded Thea practically. "He's only staying for the rest of the year."

"Oh honey, a _lot_ can happen in half a year," Thea grinned.

"My sources say he's coming in five days," Iris said, after checking the date on her phone. "Haven't been able to find out a name yet."

"Sources?" Sara snorted.

"Mhm," Iris replied primly. "You might think it's funny, but I've started looking into doing some writing for the school newspaper. You know I've always been interested in being a journalist."

"Chill, I think that's cool," Sara assured her, patting her shoulder. "And all the more tea for us amiright ladies?"

Conversation pretty much over, the three of them wandered off to their next activities of the day.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"I can't believe I couldn't get my act together fast enough for us to be dating for your eighteenth birthday," Maggie sighed as she and Alex sat close together during study hall, not concentrating on work very much.

"It's alright," Alex assured her, though she had remembered waking up to a missed call from Maggie and daydreaming about how nice it would have been to be able to celebrate her birthday with her as her girlfriend. "You got me a super cute Bare Naked Ladies shirt. Would you have really don't much differently if we had been together?"

"Um, yes," Maggie said, that smile Alex loved so much flitting across her lips. "I would have put flowers at your front door for you to find when you went to school. And I would have left you a cute note at your locker. And I would have like gotten you a necklace or something with a heart on it."

"So basically there just would have been a lot more stuff," Alex grinned.

"And a lot more kissing," Maggie added, grinning back.

"Well, I'm pretty sure we've got some time to make up for those... missed opportunities right now," Alex murmured, leaning closer and shutting her eyes in anticipation.

A cough interrupted them. "You do realize I'm sitting right here," Laurel said with an unamused expression on her face, "_trying_ to do homework."

"Sorry," Alex told her, not looking all that apologetic.

"Yeah right you are."

"I told you you were going to third wheel!" Alex protested. She nudged Maggie. "She complains, but yet she wanted to spy on us on our first date."

"Just because I think you two are adorbs and totally goals doesn't mean that I want to watch you make out in front of me!" Laurel cried. She realized she might have said that a bit loud when a few people looked over and laughed. The teacher watching over the room glanced up and gave Laurel a disapproving look. "Sorry," she mumbled, ducking her head into her notebook. "I'm just gonna go into a little hole now."

Maggie laughed. "I'm sorry Laur, here we are making you uncomfortable _and_ getting you in trouble."

"I hate you guys," Laurel grumbled. "I want to be mad at you but then you go and apologize."

They sent her angelic smiles and all three of them finally got back to their work.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

The five days after Mon-El's conversation went as any school day ever did, and soon Mon-El and his parents found themselves at the airport, waiting to pick up their exchange student.

Mon-El liked him immediately. He was fairly short, but held himself very erectly, and he had hair almost Winn's length and fairly attractive hispanic features. His English was terrific, but he spoke in a very prim, stiff way. Mon-El thought it was kind of amusing.

"Hello," he greeted them once he figured out that they would be his American family for the rest of his time in America. "My name is Querl Dox, but all of my friends call me Brainy."

"Hey, Brainy, I'm Mon-El," Mon-El said, shaking his hand. Brainy had a firm grip and his gaze was straight to the eye.

"Hello Querl," Mon-El's mom said, introducing herself and her husband and, predictably, ignoring the nick-name. "It's very nice to meet you. Should we go get your bags so you can come back to our house and settle it?"

"That would be lovely, thank you," Brainy said, dipping his chin. He carefully followed Mon-El out of the waiting terminals and towards the luggage retrieval area.

"You're English is super good," Mon-El told him, dropping his speed so he could walk next to Brainy and try to have a conversation to make him feel more comfortable.

"My parents both knew English and they taught it to me," Brainy explained. "I very much enjoy languages. I am fluent in four."

"_Four_?" Mon-El gaped. "Jeez, I could barely get through Spanish 2."

"I would be pleased to teach it to you, if you would want my assistance," Brainy told him, smiling with pleasure at Mon-El's reaction. "I hope to be a translator when I am older. I enjoy where I live, but I believe that it would in an interesting and educational experience to see other parts of the world and help people experience them as well, even if they cannot speak the language."

"That's super cool, dude," Mon-El grinned. "You got big dreams; that's great."

Brainy's mouth furrowed. "I am.. a dude?"

Mon-El's grin widened. "Oh, if you're gonna be a translator, that's one you've gotta learn," he said. "Just wait- there's _loads_ of things my friends and I are going to teach you about English."

"I will look forward to meeting your friends," Brainy told him. "And learning your words. When will I meet them?"

"Well, today's Friday so the weekend starts tomorrow," Mon-El explained, not wanting to assume that that was how they did things in Spain. "And then on Monday you'll come to school with me and meet everyone. Originally I was going to try and plan stuff with my friends this weekend so you could meet them a day early, but my parents thought that it'd be good for you to just settle in and chill, get used to the time change, you know."

"I do appreciate that," Brainy nodded.

As Mon-El thought, the weekend went quickly. Brainy was introduced to the general schedule of Mon-El's family, and he began to get into a groove of being in America. He especially enjoyed when they all went out to dinner on Saturday night, when he could try all of Mon-El's favorite fried, American foods.

Mon-El felt a bit like a proud parent as he led Brainy into the halls of AV High for the first time. Brainy's eyes were wide and he looked around with interest, but he seemed just as relaxed and in control of his face and emotions as always. It only took Mon-El a couple minutes to find Kara and Winn, who were standing and talking with Alex before they had to get to their first class.

"Hey guys!" he greeted, a big grin on his face.

"Hello," Brainy echoed. "My name is Querl, but all of my friends call me Brainy."

"Hi, Brainy, it's nice to meet you," Alex said, shaking his hand. "My name is Alex."

"Dude!" Winn cried, beaming. "_So_ lit that you're from Spain. And that you're staying with Mon-El. And that you'll get to hang with us for the rest of the year!"

Brainy glanced over at Mon-El, frowning slightly. "I do not understand why these things are... lit."

"It means cool," Kara explained. "Or awesome. My name is Kara, and this is Winn. We're really glad you're here."

"It is a pleasure to meet all of you," Brainy said, nodding at the two of them. "Mon-El has told me very much about you. Now, where should I find my first class?"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

It was lunch, and Brainy was trying to navigate the lunch line when he was approached by a mean looking, dark haired boy. "Out of the way," the boy said, pushing him roughly out of the line and taking his place. "You're taking up too much space."

Brainy eyed him with a mix of confusion and hurt. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I did not realize that there were assigned places in a lunch line."

A couple of other guys who were with the one had spoken started to laugh.

"Look," the original boy said, turning away from the food and giving Brainy an annoyed look. "Literally no one cares. No one wants you to be here, anyway."

"Hey!" a voice called, and Brainy turned around to see a stunningly beautiful young woman walking over. She was petite and looked a little awkward and Brainy felt his jaw drop as he followed her approach with starstruck eyes. "Of course people want him here, you idiots," the girl continued. "Or the student exchange program wouldn't even exist."

"And who do you think you are?"

"Nia Nal," the girl said, squinting her eyes into a glare and straightening her back. "And who do you think that _you _are?"

"Benjamin Lockwood," the guy shot back. "And you just made yourself a _dangerous_ enemy."

Nia rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said to Brainy, who was still watching her in awe. "There's a salad bar over here and you can try some croutons."

They walked away, Brainy's eyes still not leaving her. "I would tell you that I had that under control but... I do very much appreciate you stepping in."

"No problem," Nia shrugged. "I'm Nia. What's your name?"

"My name is Querl," Brainy said, starting in on his usual introduction. "But all of my friends call me Brainy."

"Okay," Nia said, smiling a little. "Well, hi Brainy. Did you, uh, have a good trip from Spain?"

"Yes, it was very nice, thank you," Brainy replied, nodding his head and folding his hands neatly in front of him. "I arrived on Friday night and I am staying with Mon-El."

Nia frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know if I've ever met Mon-El," she admitted. "I know Kara a little bit. I'm pretty sure they're dating. Hey, uh, if you don't have anywhere to sit I'm sure I could find a place at my favorite table."

"I appreciate the offer, but Mon-El has already asked me to join him for lunch," Brainy said, beginning to make himself a salad and preparing to go find a table. "I would love to accept your offer at a different time, Nia Nal."

"Oh yeah, sure," Nia shrugged, turning a little pink.

"Thank you again for assisting me in the lunch line," Brainy told her, before bowing his head in a very polite fashion and hurrying away to where he spotted Mon-El waving at him.

"Hey, did you have some trouble?" Mon-El asked, frowning in concern as Brainy sat down. "I saw you leave the lunch line."

Brainy glanced over his shoulder, trying to catch on last look at Nia. "Uh... I had some..." he trailed off, before asking abruptly: "What do you know about Nia Nal? She is, uh, I don't know the word... muy hermosa."

"Gorgeous?" Kara supplied, exchanging wide smiles with Mon-El.

"Yes," Brainy agreed slowly. "There is... a light in her face. Ella es la más radiante y linda."

"Oh my gosh," Kara whispered, leaning over to Mon-El. "I think Brainy just fell in love at first sight. He's so overcome he's forgotten how to speak English."

Mon-El looked a little alarmed. "Jeezum that was fast," he muttered. "So what do we know about this Nia Nal?"

"Uh, not much," Kara said, frowning a little. "But I do know someone I could ask."

**Author's Note: Heheheheh YAY! BRAINIA HAS MADE IT INTO AV HIGH! **

**My life-goal has been achieved; I can't possibly top this ever XD**

**(btw Brainy said "She is the most radiant and lovely." :))))) **


	35. Chapter 35

**Author's Notes: Hitting them milestones ya'll! **

**LOL is 35 even a real milestone? I mean it's a five but I feel like the 25, 50, 75, etc are really the big ones. **

Kara located Iris, Thea and Sara clumped together on the front steps of AV High after they finished basketball practice. She herself had just gotten done with an extracurricular art class, and her hands, like always, were somehow covered in paint.

"Hey girls!" Kara called, hurrying over.

"Hey Kara, what's up?" Sara asked, not exactly sure why Kara was there but welcoming her presence all the same.

"Mon-El's exchange student had his first day today," Kara started, sitting down next to Sara. Thea and Iris positioned themselves so they could hear her better. "And he had a run in with someone named Nia Nal."

Thea's eyes lit up and she began to aggressively nudge Iris. "See? See?! I knew he would find a girl. I knew it! Ohhhh ho ho ho, Nia Nal, huh?"

"Do you know her?" Kara asked eagerly. "Mon-El and I don't know much about her -I've only talked to her a couple times- but I thought you girls might."

"Hmmm..." Iris murmured thoughtfully, tucking her mouth to the side. "Okay, Nia Nal. She's pretty small, right? Long, dark hair? Really distinct features?"

Kara nodded. "She's a Junior, I'm pretty sure," she said. "I think she's new this year, though. I don't remember her from past years."

"Oh!" Thea cried. "Oh, oh, I know who you're talking about. Okay so Nia transferred from being homeschooled at her homestead out in Oklahoma because her parents wanted her to have more life experience under her belt before she went to college. She has an older sister, who I'm pretty sure is old enough to be in college but she's going to be taking over work at the homestead instead. Nia mostly keeps to herself and I'm _pretty_ sure that she has a mild case of narcolepsy."

Iris blinked a few times. "Okay, I know we're gossips and lovers-of-tea but how the _heck_ do you know that much?"

Thea smirked. "Guess my sources are just better than yours, huh?" she teased. Sara snorted.

Kara nodded eagerly. "Okay, cool. I mean, not so much about her having narcolepsy; that must suck. But anyway, what do you know about her personality? Like, what's she like? Is she nice?"

Thea shrugged. "I can find out people's stories and their family life, but personality is tougher. I haven't heard anything bad about her. She doesn't seem to hang out with very many people, though. She seems to mostly keep to herself, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just makes it harder to know her personality and stuff."

Kara sat back with a small huff. "Okay. Well, thanks for what you _could_ tell me." She grinned slightly. "It's more than I ever expected to be able to find out."

"Yeah Thea," Sara snorted. "It's kinda creepy that you know that much about someone you've never actually talked to. I'm a little scared to learn what you know about people you are actually friendly with."

"Shut up," Thea grumbled. "I consider learning things about people and remembering them with scary precision to be an art form. Don't judge my art form, Sara."

Sara laughed and Kara stood up. "Well, I'm going to go report this all to Mon-El," she told the other girls. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Bye Kara," Thea waved. "Let me know if you need help with your matchmaking!"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

The next day, Felicity was gathering her things for her next class when Oliver Queen appeared on the other side of her locker.

"Hey," he said, smiling brightly at her. "How's your day been?"

Felicity blinked up at him in confusion. It was unusual for him to come and visit her. "Uh, it's been alright," she said, smiling a little despite herself. "What's up with you?"

"I just figured I'd come visit you," Olivers shrugged, slinging his arm every-so-casually around her shoulders and leading her down the hall in the direction he hoped she wanted to go. It seemed he guessed right, because she didn't try to turn around or protest that she was going to be late for class.

"Okay..." Felicity murmured slowly. "What's the catch?"

Oliver gave her a look. "There is no catch!" he protested. "Aren't I allowed to come visit my girlfriend and walk her to her next class?"

"You never have before," Felicity said, laughing a little. "Not that I'm complaining or anything." She blinked up at him, then away. He was so attractive it was actually kind of hard to look at him.

Oliver shrugged, arm shifting a little around her shoulders. "First time for anything," he said, feeling a little guilty that he had never thought to do this before. He wasn't very good at feeling people's stares on the two of them, tracking their every move down the hallway. "Besides, I wanted to apologize."

Felicity frowned. "For what?" she said, trying to think back to previous conversations or texts where she had either gotten upset or it may have been implied that she got upset. Nothing came to mind. "If I said something that made you think I was mad I really don't think that-"

"No, no, you didn't," Oliver reassured her hurriedly. "I wanted to apologize for how everything went down after the school lockdown. I didn't come looking for you to see if you were alright."

"It's not like I did, either," Felicity shrugged, not terribly bothered by it. The thought had crossed her mind, but she knew how hectic everything had been. "There was a lot going on. I didn't see you. My mom showed up really quick. There were a lot of details that just kinda got in the way."

"Yeah, I know," Oliver said. "I just was thinking about it the other day. Like Thea was freaking out until she saw Roy. And I just... I didn't even text that night. Granted I walked upstairs to change and I fell asleep until 4 o'clock the next morning when I realized I hadn't done any of my homework and then I did all of it before I realized we didn't have any school so..."

"You're starting to ramble like me," Felicity snickered. "I'm really not concerned, Oliver, it's not like I tried to find you or texted you either. I really should have. I _did_ think of you I just... well my mom was kind of freaking out so I wasn't really on my phone."

She threaded her arm comfortably around his waist. "But I promise that if there is ever another gun that goes off in school, seeing if you are alright will be my second priority."

Oliver made a face. "Yeah, let's hope that _doesn't_ happen," he said.

They had reached Felicity's class, so she pulled him to a stop. "Welp, this is me," she told him with her usual awkward little inflection. "Thanks for walking me to class. Now you better go or you're gonna be late."

"Eh," he shrugged. "There are worse things."

He leaned down and kissed her cheek and then sauntered off, hands tucked in pockets. Felicity watched him a slight smile, shaking her head, before turning to enter class.

It was French, which she hated, so she had plenty of time to get lost in thought. She found herself wondering exactly _why_ she hadn't texted Oliver. She had thought of him, or she was pretty sure she had. It was kind of hard to remember every thought that had gone through her head that day. It had been overwhelming and scary and she had focused more on the scenarios of what had happened if the shooter hadn't been a kid and had come bursting into the classroom after hearing her scream and shot her than she had been about worrying about Oliver.

Did that make her a bad girlfriend? Or even a bad friend? She had been very happy to see him when he showed up to walk her to class. She hadn't stopped smiling for a full five minutes afterward (before French started and she got annoyed and forgot the giddy feeling). She had liked it when Oliver had put his arm around her in front of everyone. It had been nice, it had been comfortable...

So why hadn't she called or texted or tried to find him after the lockdown? She should have been worried sick, or even if she wasn't worried _sick_ she should have at least been concerned. Felicity wasn't a huge worrier- having a mother who often showed up later than expected and threw random curveballs into your schedule would do that to you.

But most girlfriends, even the ones that weren't worriers, were concerned about their boyfriends. What did that say about her? What did that say about Oliver? Because it didn't seem like he had worried about her all that much, either.

Felicity pulled a face and put her chin down on top of her hands. As class droned on she zoned out, trying to figure out where she had gone wrong.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Kara and Mon-El were both in their respective rooms, FaceTiming. Mon-El, who was procrastinating working on his math homework, was the first to inadvertently bring up Brainy.

"Hey," he spoke up. "What happened to you the other day? I couldn't find you after school."

"Ohh." Kara put down her pencil and picked up her phone, which had been lying on her desk as she worked on her own math. "I went to talk to Thea and Iris and Sara to see what I could find out about Nia."

"Oh?" Mon-El said, eyebrow raising. "And...?"

Kara leaned back in her chair and tried to get a better angle on her face. "Well," she replied. "Thea definitely knew _of_ her- apparently she used to live on a homestead and she has a sister back home who still lives there but I'm pretty sure her sister is out of college? And Nia is going to school here because her parents want her to get some life experience before college or something. None of them knew her personally, though, so I don't really know what she's _like_."

Mon-El snorted. "Sometimes the amount of gossip and information you girls can absorb is kind of alarming."

"Don't stereotype," Kara huffed. "I only remembered all of that because Thea told me yesterday."

"Fine, fine," Mon-El allowed, holding up his hands in surrender. Kara wished that he would pick up his phone from his desk so she could actually see his face. She did, of course, see him quite a lot during the day, but there was something about how he looked in the light of his desk lamp wearing a graphic short sleeve t-shirt that was insanely attractive.

"So aaaaanyway," Kara hedged, trying to keep the conversation moving. "I think that we should totally encourage Brainy to sit with her someday soon."

Mon-El finally picked up his phone, giving up on focusing on his math, and glanced toward his door. "I don't know if he's gonna want to, Kara," he admitted.

"What? Why?"

"Honestly?" Mon-El laughed. "I think he's scared of her."

"Well of _course_ he's scared of her; she rescued him from bullies _and_ she cute," Kara said. "But come on- Nia would be lucky to have him! It's pretty darn rare that you find someone who will meet you and then be so overcome that he forgets how to speak English."

Mon-El snickered. "Isn't that what happened when I met you?"

Kara rolled her eyes but smiled at the memory. "No, if I recall we bumped into each other in Astronomy class on the first day of school and _I_ forgot how to use my voice box."

"And then Ray walked right in between us and then I tried to gaze at you for the rest of class but it didn't work because I was sitting in front of you."

Kara giggled. "Those were the good old days."

"I don't know if I'd say... good?" Mon-El said, squinting slightly with his lips still quirked upward. "They were certainly... exciting."

Kara laughed again. "So anyway, getting back to Brainy," she said. "I think that you should definitely encourage him to try and sit with different people and meet a bunch of kids while he's here."

"But all for the ulterior motive of getting him with Nia," Mon-El added.

"Well, yeah," Kara shrugged. "But also because it's important to meet new people and we want him to have the full American experience."

Mon-El mostly ignored her last excuse. "I never really saw us as matchmakers."

"Pfft, we can totally do this," Kara said, flapping her hand. "Oh also- I think I might just have another idea for a couple: James and Lena."

Mon-El frowned, having heard next to nothing about either of them and not entirely sure who Kara was talking about. "Who?"

"James Olsen and Lena Luthor," Kara elaborated. "Lena is the editor of the newspaper I've been writing a little for? And I recruited James to help because he's a photographer and Lena's been looking for one."

"And... why do you think they'll make a good couple?"

"I dunno," Kara shrugged. "I just feel like there's a spark, ya know?"

Mon-El snorted. "Can't say I do," he admitted. "But hey, you do what you wanna do."

Though Kara didn't know it, James was actually thinking about her at that very moment. HIs conversation with Winn a few weeks before was still running through his head. Poor Winn. Not having known where Kara and Mon-El were in their relationship, he had unwittingly lead James to believe that because he and Kara weren't together, that meant the cute blond was single.

In Winn's defense, the last he had heard about his favorite couple was when Kara came for her therapy session in his living room. She and Mon-El hadn't exactly been in a good place then.

So now James was wrapped up in the idea that Kara was single and, unfortunately, interested in him. Sadly for him, he was very wrong.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Francisco Ramon!" Caitlin squealed through the phone to her best friend on Friday night. "Um, I need some explanation _right now_!"

"I actually have no idea what you're talking about," Cisco said, snickering. "Elaborate?"

"This picture you posted!" Caitlin gaped. "You and- and- a _girl_ and you two are looking pretty darn couple-y! Cisco! Explain! Now!"

"I will if you let me!" Cisco cried, halfway between exasperated and laughing. "Her name is Cynthia but she has everyone call her Gypsy."

"That's weird."

"I think it's kinda hot, honestly," Cisco admitted with a grin. "She joined that laser tag group I'm apart of about a month ago, but she's like _super _good because she was in one where she lived and she just moved to the area. So yeah, it took a little while but I finally got her to go on a date with him."

Caitlin's jaw dropped. "Um, _how_ the _heck_ did you manage to keep this information from me? You're my best friend; isn't this the kind of thing that you're supposed to tell your best friend?"

"We've been keeping in on the downlow until last night when we went Instagram official," Cisco shrugged. "I only just told my parents two days ago."

"Were they cool with it?" Caitlin asked nervously, knowing that Cisco's parents weren't always the most outwardly supportive people possible.

"Yeah!" Cisco replied. "I mean, it's not as if I haven't had girlfriends before. But Caitlin- Cynthia is so special. She's, like, fiery and hot and wild and-" he let out a groan and Caitlin laughed. "I just can't believe she agreed to go out with me."

"She is lucky to have you, Cisco," Caitlin told him kindly. "Do you think it's gonna be hard to have her not go to AV High? When will you guys see each other?"

"At laser tag," Cisco said. "And we'll go on dates on weekends if we're not too busy. Besides, she's really good at replying to texts and stuff. I think we can totally make it work."

Caitlin wasn't going to bring it up, but she felt like this was about how every past relationship Cisco had had went. His last girlfriend, Kendra, had only lasted a week before she broke up with him and went back to her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Carter. The last Caitlin had heard, she had been with Ray Palmer for about three months before falling back on Carter again.

Cisco had been heartbroken when Kendra had broken up with him. In fact, he was heartbroken every time a girl broke up with him. He never seemed to do the breaking up himself, and on top of that he felt things for his girlfriends so much more than the average high school guy. Caitlin just had to hope against hope that Gypsy wouldn't just be another girl to break Cisco's heart.

"I'm happy for you," she told him, smiling even though he couldn't see it through the phone. Then she asked the only question that really mattered: "When do I meet her?"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Leonard Snart was surprised when Sara bounced up to him after school, holding a cupcake. She was closely followed by Thea and Iris, both of which looked amused and a little embarrassed.

"Alright, everybody now!" Sara cried, grinning. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Leonard... Happy birthday to you!"

"Nice harmony," Leonard laughed.

"I got you a cupcake," Sara beamed, presenting it to him. "The cupcake's blue because that is your favorite color."

Leonard laughed again. "Thank you," he said, accepting it and then immediately swiping his finger through the frosting and smearing it on Sara's cheek. Her jaw dropped before a devious smirk crossed her face and she scrabbled to get some frosting herself to take her revenge.

Two seconds later, the cupcake had face-planted on the ground. "Aww..." Sara's face fell and she picked it up. "If you scrape off the frosting you could probably still eat it."

"Ewww..." Thea cringed, grabbing the mutilated cupcake from her before she could go through with that plan. "Sara, that's gross. Who knows what has been on this grass?"

Sara shrugged, before looking apologetically at Leonard. "I can get you a new one," she offered. "Or how 'bout Laurel and I drive you home and take you out for hot chocolate? I'm sure she wouldn't mind, especially if I pay. She'll do just about anything for free food."

"That sounds great," Leonard agreed, letting Sara take his hand.

"See you later, ladies!" Sara called over her shoulder to Iris and Thea. "Thanks for the backup vocals!"

They waved their goodbyes with mirroring, "Happy Birthday, Leonard"s, and then turned and headed towards the bus stop.

True to Sara's word, Laurel was very eager to stop for hot chocolate if her younger sister was paying. They pulled up at Jitters and Sara was the first out of the car. "Alright," she told Leonard once he got out and shut the car door behind him. "You can get _whatever_ you want, as big as you want, and I'll pay."

"You know, I would refuse," Leonard said thoughtfully. "But I don't like refusing free things, especially not on my birthday."

"Besides, I'll just make you un-refuse," Sara told him with a shrug. "Now. Hot cocoa."

After they had ordered their drinks and a snack (and a replacement cupcake for Leonard which Sara stuck a candle she just _happened_ to have in her backpack into), they found a seat in the corner. Sara took a long sip of her hot chocolate. "OW!" she yelped, spitting it back into her mug. "That's hot!"

"Remind me not to agree to trying your hot cocoa," Laurel said dryly, eyeing her sister with a certain level of disgust. "Did you burn your tongue?"

Said tongue was currently hanging out of Sara's mouth like a dog. "Yesss..." she mumbled, fanning it. "I hate burning my tongue."

Leonard was laughing. "Have some cupcake," he offered, lifting up the dessert.

Sara's tongue was quickly forgotten as she scooted back her chair. "Don't put more frosting on my face!" she squealed. "It'll end up on the ground again!"

"I was wondering what happened to the original cupcake," Laurel commented, raising her mug to blow into it, creating tiny ripples on the surface of her mocha latte.

"Yeah, OG CC bit the dust," Sara snickered, relaxing back into her chair as Leonard lowered the cupcake, realizing the warning was a legitimate possibility considering what had happened last time. "And then I almost bit the actual dust on the cupcake 'cause I was still down to eat it."

"Oh that's gross, Sara," Laurel laughed, finally taking a sip of her drink. "Well, Happy Birthday Leonard. I'd sing but you don't want me to."

"Oh, we sang for him already," Sara beamed, patting Leonard's arm. "And yeah, you really don't want her to sing."

Laurel slapped her shoulder. Leonard laughed and took a bite of the cupcake. He nodding his appreciation. "Very good. But seriously," he expression sobered up slightly. "Thank you two. This is the best birthday I've had in a really long time."

Laurel smiled faintly. "Don't thank me. This is all Sara."

"Hey, guess what?" Sara asked, tilting her head and looking up at him. "If you let me, I'll make every birthday this good. Or better."

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I would like that a lot."

**Author's Note: Heyyyy I know that was kind of like blown over but that _was_ actually Sara and Leonard's first kiss... and yes it was on the cheek but whatever.**

**LOL why are all these couples so chaste they're taking SO LONG to have they're first kisses XD Granted... in the shows they take forever to have their first kisses, too, so...**


	36. Chapter 36

**Author's Note: Yo we're almost to Valentine's Day! That'll be fun. And then Winter Formal :D **

Over the weekend, Brainy had been dragged along by Mon-El as he started introducing him to everything wonderful in America. They got smoothies downtown, met up with Kara and did some window shopping, and went to see a movie, all while still trying to make time for homework and studying.

On Monday, once everyone was back at school, Kara struck. "Hey, Brainy," she said as the dark hair young man made to sit down at their table like he normally did. "Have you seen Nia lately?"

Brainy immediately turned dark red. "N-N-Nia?" he stuttered. "If you mean Nia Nal, then n-no, I have not. Have you seen her? Do you see her now?"

Kara grinned, exchanging meaningful looks with Mon-El. "Yeah, she's right over there."

Brainy spun around in his seat, very obviously, and frantically searched for Nia in the cafeteria room. When he had spotted her, he froze, and then immediately whipped back around. "She looks... very lovely today," he said, looking like he wished she looked anything but 'lovely'.

Kara grinned even wider. "Maybe you should go sit with her?" she suggested causally, twirling her noodles up with a fork.

Brainy's eyes went wide. "Sit- sit with her? Sit with Nia Nal? By... myself?"

"Sure!" Mon-El shrugged, playing along. "I mean, you're here to meet people, right? And she invited you. Maybe she's hurt you haven't taken her up on it!"

Brainy stole another glance over his shoulder at Nia. "I... no, no, I can't," he muttered, quickly digging into his food. "It is just... too nerve wracking."

Kara shared a glance with Mon-El and placed her hand over her heart, making an 'awwww too cute I can't' face. "Aw, come on Brainy. You're just sitting with her! You would probably make her day."

Brainy looked over at her. "Do you... do you _really_ think that I would make her day?" he asked. "Because... I would rather like to make Nia Nal's day."

Kara immediately started fangirling too hard to speak, so Mon-El picked up the slack. "I mean, I don't know Nia very well," he said, taking his turn to glance at the brunet sitting at the far table. "But if she invited you to sit with her, that probably means she wants to get to know you. Even if it doesn't make her day, it would at least make her happy."

Brainy leapt to his feet, picking up his lunch tray with a suddenly determined look on his face. "Alright," he said, squinting dramatically. "Here I go. I am ready to go make Nia Nal happy."

With that, he turned, stepped neatly over his chair, and strode towards Nia's table. Kara watched him go with a wide grin on her face. "Ohhhh I will be _so_ interested to see how this plays out," she murmured, taking Brainy's seat so she could sit next to Mon-El.

Brainy's stomach was in knots by the time he reached Nia's table. She glanced up when he stopped beside it, looking surprised. "Oh! Brainy, right?"

"Uh, yes," Brainy dipped his chin. "I am... pleasantly surprised that you remembered." He glanced at the table, noticing how the only other person there was sitting on the opposite side, and was on her phone. "Are you... eating alone?"

"Uh.." Nia glanced over at the other person at the table, who happened to be Eve Teschmacher. "Yeah, basically. Wanna sit down?"

"That is what I'm here for," Brainy agreed, taking a seat.

She sent him a nervous half smile, biting into her sandwich. "Um, so... how's it going? That Ben Lockwood kid give you any more trouble?"

"No, no, not at all," Brainy assured her quickly. "I am fairly certain that you scared him off."

"Well, if he messes with you again, just let me know," Nia told him, raising her chin. "You are officially under Nia Nal's protection."

Brainy laughed, and then changed the subject. "So... I heard that you used to live on a homestead?"

"Where'd you hear that?" Nia asked, sending him a suddenly suspicious look. "Have you been, like, asking people about me or something?"

"Yes..." Brainy said slowly, looking confused. "Is that... not good?"

The suspicion faded a little. "Then why didn't you come and talk to me?" Nia asked, poking at her sandwich. "You could have just asked me where I was from and stuff. You didn't need to ask other people."

"Oh." Brainy finally realized that he had acted a bit oddly, even though his actions hadn't been terribly unusual for high school. "I suppose that I was simply too nervous to approach you in person. I, well... you are rather b-beautiful, and I have never met someone quite like you before. I know that I can come off as... rather strange to people at times, and I didn't want to scare you away."

Nia tilted her head, cheeks darkening a little. "Thank you, Brainy," she murmured. "But you don't have to be nervous around me just because you think I'm pretty. I mean... there's more to me than how I look. Maybe if you got to know those parts, you might not be so scared of me? And... I don't think you're strange, by the way."

Brainy looked bashful. "I would like to get to know those other parts of you, Nia Nal," he said softly. "And I'm glad that you don't think I'm strange."

Nia nodded awkwardly. "Alright so... now that we've gotten that out of the way: what do you like to do in Spain?"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Caitlin, I need help."

Caitlin glanced up in surprise at Felicity, who had just walked up to her in the lunchroom. Caitlin had gotten out of class a little earlier than normal, and so she was one of the first people in the cafeteria and was currently alone at her table.

"What's up?" Caitlin asked, concerned. "Is everything okay?"

Felicity sat down next to her. "Yeah, everything's fine," she said. "I mean, I guess it is. I've been having some issues lately. With Oliver."

Caitlin frowned. "With Oliver? Did something happen? Did you guys fight?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Felicity replied hurriedly. "There's nothing _wrong_, exactly. Actually, things are going pretty well between us. I just feel like... things are flat, kind of. Like... neither of us are really invested in the relationship. Like obviously I think that he is gorgeous and funny and kind and stuff, and he likes me for... whatever he likes me for-"

"For being sweet and funny and cute and smart and so much more," Caitlin interrupted, giving her a stern look.

"Thanks," Felicity smiled. "But anyway. I like dating him, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Exactly!" Felicity let out a sigh and planted her chin on her hand. "Dating him is fun, when we are actually doing stuff together. But when we're not, like... usually I don't think about him. And I don't think he thinks about me."

Caitlin gave her a quizzical look. "Where is all of this coming from?" she asked. "You were _so_ excited when you finally started going out. And you two stuck with it even after that whole Beauty and the Beast fiasco. Why do you think that you don't think about him?"

Felicity sighed and and pursed her lips. "Okay so, after the school shooting, neither of us checked on the other one."

Caitlin's eyebrows furrowed and she waited for her friend to go on.

"Like, we didn't find each other when we got out of school, and then we didn't text or call when we got home. Oliver said he fell asleep really quickly because he had been so stressed out or something, and my mom was being kind of overbearing because, you know, she's my mom. And he came to walk me to class a couple days ago and we talked about it and he didn't seem very concerned, and honestly I'm not really either but... I'm just confused, you know?"

Caitlin nodded slowly. "So... is the problem that you think that you two are fine, but you don't feel like, compared to everyone else, that you're feeling _enough_?"

"Yes!" Felicity cried. "Yes, exactly! I mean, if you look at Iris and Barry-"

"Felicity, you can't look at Iris and Barry to gauge your relationship," Caitlin laughed, putting a hand on her arm. "They've been together for _years_, and they're basically the mom and dad of AV High. Heck, you shouldn't be comparing your relationship to _anyone_ here- or anywhere! You and Oliver are unique to you two. If you don't feel the need to text him or think about him all the time, that's okay. In fact, that's a lot healthier than the alternative."

Felicity bit her lip. "Do you really think so?" she asked, sounding a little bit hopeful. "Like, you don't think that there's something wrong with us?"

"No," Caitlin told her firmly. "There's nothing wrong with space, or being okay with being by yourself. You two aren't dependent on each other. That's how it should be when you're our age! Dating should be for something fun to do on the weekends, and having a boyfriend should just give you someone to confide in, and to listen to, and to have something a little more than a normal friend is."

Felicity let out a breath. "Okay," she said. "Okay, thanks Caitlin."

"But hey," Caitlin stopped her before she could get up and head to the lunch line. "It's also completely legitimate to not want a boyfriend, or feel like you need one at the moment. It's _also_ completely legitimate to just not be feeling a relationship. If you don't want to date Oliver anymore, no one's going to judge you. I just think that you should think on it, and make the decision with a clear head. Okay?"

"Okay," Felicity repeated, and then headed to get lunch.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

James Olsen took a deep breath. He was holding his camera in one hand and had his backpack on, and he was about to step into the School Newspaper room. Lena was on vacation for the next two days, so he knew that he and Kara would be alone in the room.

With another deep breath, James opened up the door. Kara had her hair in a messy ponytail and she was plugging in her computer to an outlet on the wall. She glanced over her shoulder when he walked in before turning back to the device. "Hey, James! How's it going?"

"It's going alright," James said, trying to move through the pleasantries as quickly as possible so he could get to his main purpose before he lost his nerve. "Hey, so... are you free this Saturday?"

Kara glanced up again. "Uh... this Saturday? I'd have to check. Why...?"

James took yet another deep breath, squeezing his camera strap tightly. "Uh, so, I know we haven't known each other for very long, but... I was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner with me? On a date?"

Kara's eyes blew up behind her glasses and she hopped to her feet. "Wait, a date?"

"Yeah..." James said slowly, feeling the hope for his chances starting to slowly slip away at her reaction. "The thing is, I- I think that you are really pretty and funny and nice, and... I just thought I'd act on my feelings instead of waiting around for someone to scoop you up. I've- I've done that before and it's not fun."

Kara put her hand to her forehead. "Oh gosh," she muttered. "James, I'm so sorry... I'm already dating someone. We've been together for almost the entire school year, and it's really serious. I'm so sorry."

"You're-" James stared at her blankly, disappointment making his stomach sink. "The whole year?"

"Yeah," Kara replied, biting her lip. "I really am sorry. Especially if I lead you on in any way. You're a great guy, but... yeah."

James nodded and turned. "I think I'm going to head home," he muttered.

"James-"

"No, if I stayed it'd just be really awkward." He forced a laugh. "I mean, it's already awkward, but it'd be more awkward. Have a good night, Kara."

"You too..." she murmured, watching him go with a sad expression on her face.

As he walked out the door, James came to a sudden realization that he had never actually been told that Kara was single. Still, it didn't stop him for heading for the gym, where he knew a certain someone would be.

Winn was sitting right where James had found him the first time they had spoken. He was sitting on the bleachers fooling around with his phone, his backpack at his feet, when James strode over.

"Why didn't you tell me Kara was dating someone?" James demanded as soon as he got within earshot.

Winn jumped, and a few kids looked over. "What?" he replied blankly. "Kara's dating Mon-El! Everyone knows that."

"Yeah, well maybe not the new kid who came up and _specifically asked about her_," James shot back, frustrated.

Winn glanced around at the small throng of onlookers that were listening in, and then looked at his watch. "Alright, come on," he said, grabbing his bag and heading for the exit. "You have ten minutes and then I need to be back in there so I can get on the bus."

They left the gym and stepped outside. James crossed his arms and Winn mirrored the position, though he looked considerably less intimidating. "Okay dude," Winn began, giving him an unimpressed look. "What _exactly_ are you accusing me of?"

"I'm not- _accusing_ you," James protested, the embarrassment that had caused his anger at Winn starting to seep away and leaving him feeling a little guilty for taking it out on the younger guy. "I... asked Kara out, and she told me she was dating someone. I just didn't get how you could fail to inform of that detail when I had asked you about her."

"You asked if _I_ was dating her," Winn reminded him with a frown. "You didn't ask if she was single."

James rubbed his hand across the top of his head. "I actually didn't even ask if _you_ were dating her; you just told me," he admitted. "I'm... I'm sorry Winn. I was just a super big jerk right there and that was uncool."

"Yeah," Winn shrugged, agreeing shamelessly. "But it's all good, man. Kara... she's got this weird thing about her that kinda makes guys look crazy. I mean, I knew her for five years and I fell in love with her, but I mean, we were best friends. But it's _Kara_, so I risked all of that and told her how I felt." He shrugged again. "You just moved a bit faster than me. Guess you're braver or something."

James huffed out a laugh. "Or stupid."

"Yeah," Winn allowed. "Mon-El's a lucky dude. Kara is... a really great girl. I mean, she's pretty and funny and sweet and just-"

"Stop, I can't talk about her anymore," James groaned, covering his face. "I'm probably going to have to quit working at the school newspaper now because it's going to be _so awkward_."

"Yeah, she's also pretty awkward," Winn snorted. "But who isn't in high school, honestly."

James uncovered his face and looked Winn over. "Hey, are _you_ free on Saturday?" he asked suddenly. "I figure instead of wallowing in the fact that I'm not with a girl, I might as well do something fun. You wanna hangout somewhere?"

Winn looked surprised. "Like, just me?" he asked. "As, like, bros?"

"Sure," James laughed. "What do you say?"

"I say awesome!" Winn grinned. "It's been ages since I hung out with another guy one on one. Like... I actually cannot remember the last time I hung out with another guy one on one."

James laughed again. "Check your schedule and hit me up with a place and time," he said, turning to walk away.

"Dude, I don't even have your number," Winn reminded him, pulling out his phone to start a new contact.

"Right," James said, putting his number into Winn's phone. "Alright, cool. See you tomorrow?"

"You got it," Winn grinned, holding up his hand for a fist bump. "And... thanks."

"Hey, I should be thanking you," James shrugged. "I'm not hanging out with you out of pity, Winn. You're a pretty cool dude, and it seems to me like you're kind of under appreciated."

Winn dipped his chin, touched. "Thanks, man," he said. "See you tomorrow."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Hey girl," Iris said as she plunked her books down next to Thea's on Friday afternoon. "I'm thinking of going ice skating on Sunday with Barry. Do you wanna come with? Roy's welcome too and I'm going to see if Sara and Leonard are available."

Thea looked up at her and Iris was alarmed to see her eyes fill with tears. A million possibilities flooded Iris' mind. "Oh my gosh, what's wrong? Did you and Roy break up?"

"No," Thea mumbled, plunking her head down on her crossed arms. "No, it's nothing to do with Roy. I failed my chem exam today. Like, actual F, on the page, in red. My mom's gonna _freak_. She's probably not going to let me do anything this weekend, or next weekend, or any weekends until I can get my grade up."

"Oh, Thea..." Iris murmured, putting an arm around her shoulders. "It's just one grade."

"Yeah, but I'm probably totally going to fail midterms, too!" Thea cried, lifting her head and wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I just _hate_ chemistry _so much_. I love English, I love history, I'm struggling with pre-calc but it's fine... but chemistry? I _cannot do it_."

"Have you asked Caitlin or Julian to help you out?" Iris suggested. "They're so smart in chemistry."

"No," Thea groaned. "I don't want to ask for help! Everyone else is managing just fine. They'll think I'm stupid."

Iris gave her a look. "Come on, Thea, it's _Caitlin_. She doesn't look at anyone like that, even though she's probably the most brilliant person at AV High besides _maybe_ Alex."

"No, no, I know," Thea answered quickly. "I know. I just feel weird, you know? Like, yes, maybe I do spend too much time on Instagram or with friends. Caitlin puts in the work and studies; that's why she's smart."

"I'm not telling you to ask her to do your homework or something!" Iris exclaimed. "Just some help, if you're stuck on a concept or something. I'd help you, but I'd probably just end up confusing you. I'm just scraping by with Barry's assistance as it is."

Thea sighed. "You're so lucky you have a boyfriend who actually cares about school. I really don't understand how Roy passes: he _never_ studies and most of his homework assignments are sent in late, but somehow he doesn't get an F."

"I doubt he gets very good grades, though," Iris tsked. "Which means that college is going to be really hard for him."

Thea pulled a face. "He's not going to college," she said. "He said his dad can't afford it."

Iris blinked. "Oh."

"Yeah." Thea blew her hair back. "I guess I'm not so unlucky, if you look at it that way. I mean, he's probably close to failing _all_ his subjects, but it doesn't even matter because he can't pay for college."

"Well, not everyone goes to college," Iris reminded her diplomatically. "He could go to a community college or take up a trade or something. I could see Roy Harper as a plumber."

Thea snorted with laughter. "I won't tell him you said that," she giggled, and then cringed. "I wouldn't want to put any ideas in his head."

Iris laughed, too. "So you're all good now?" she asked her best friend. "No more tears or freaking out, okay? Just ask Caitlin, _nicely_, if she will help you out with your chemistry work. Even if she doesn't want to, I doubt she'll say no."

"We'll see," Thea said. "But I'll let you know about ice skating, okay? Might be sort of last minute so I'm not like, 'Hey mom! I failed chemistry! Can I go ice skating with Iris on Sunday?' Can't imagine she'd like that very much."

"Yeah, I wouldn't do that," Iris agreed, wincing. "Just text me. I'm going to ask Sara and we'll plan something, so I'll fill you in if you can come." She got up. "I have to go find Barry. Talk to you later?"

"Yep," Thea agreed. "Seeya later, Iris."

**Author's Note: WINN AND JAMES ARE THE BROOOOS OMG :D **


	37. Chapter 37

**Author's Note: Okay, so one of my favorite parts about Supergirl Season 4 was how CUTE Brainy and Lena's friendship was. I wanted to explore that a bit, so here we are. **

Lena was surprised when Brainy walked into the School Newspaper room on Friday afternoon. "Hi," she greeted, eyebrows furrowing. "You're Brainy, right? The exchange student from Spain?"

Brainy glanced up, seeming startled to find someone else in the room. "Oh! Yes, that's me."

He didn't add anything else about what he was doing in the newspaper room or what he wanted, and Lena frowned. "Uh... can I help you with something...?"

"Oh!" Brainy said again, looking even more surprised now that Lena had spoken a second time. "Well you see, Mon-El has a very bad ear infection and couldn't come to school, so his mother is having Kara and her sister Alex to pick me up and take me home."

Lena nodded. The arrangement made sense. Brainy was basically Kara's exchange student as well as Mon-El's, considering how much time he spent third-wheeling with them. He didn't seem to mind it, though.

Brainy walked over to the window and stared out. Lena watched him curiously. "Are you alright?" she asked. "You seem like you've got something on your mind."

Brainy glanced over. "I do," he sighed, having no qualms at all in opening up to Lena, who he had met for the first time about a minute ago. It was entirely possible that he didn't even know her name. "Rather, I have _someone_ on my mind."

Just then, the door opened again and in stepped Kara. "Oh good, you found the room!" she chirped, smiling at Brainy. "Hey Lena, how's it going?"

"It's going well," Lena told her, trying not to show her disappointment that Brainy hadn't had time to spill his guts to her. She was incredibly curious as to what he would have said, had he been allowed to continue, but she supposed it wasn't _really_ her business. "Send Mon-El my well wishes."

"Will do," Kara said, at the same time as Brainy asked: "Where are they?"

Kara frowned. "Where are what?"

"The well wishes?"

Lena and Kara both laughed. "I meant send like... tell him," Lena explained. "Tell him I hope he feels better."

"Ahh..." Brainy nodded slowly. "Apologies for my ignorance. See, I found out recently that a 'kiss' is not just an action. It is also a small piece of delicious chocolate wrapped in foil."

"Mon-El had Hershey's Kisses out when I came over on Saturday," Kara explained to Lena, grinning. "Brainy was a little confused when Mon-El asked if he wanted a kiss."

"I can imagine," Lena laughed. "Alright you two, have a good rest of your day."

Kara waved as they walked out the door, leaving Lena to her editing work.

The next day, Brainy was back. "Mon-El still not better?" Lena asked as she hovered over the printer, trying to get it to work correctly. The last page she had tried had printed out purple and she wasn't exactly sure why.

"No," Brainy replied ruthfully, walking over to the window and gazing out of it like he had the day before. "His mother is taking him to the doctor's office this afternoon when she gets home from work. He has a fever now."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Lena, who had never actually met Mon-El, felt like she should say something else but wasn't exactly sure what. "So... you still have someone on your mind?"

"I do indeed," Brainy said, nodding slowly like he always seemed to. "Her name is Nia Nal. Have you met her?"

"No..." Lena replied unsurely. "I don't actually know a lot of people here. Most people don't really like spending time with me because they've heard rumors about my brother and mother being in prison."

Brainy's eyes went wide. "Prison?" he asked. "Are they... true rumors?"

"Yeah," Lena shrugged. "But please don't go telling everyone."

"I would not." Brainy huffed, offended. "Besides, I do not see why your family being in prison would make people not want to spend time with you. It's not as if _you_ were in prison."

"Yeah," Lena said again. "But people don't care about that. My family kind of gives me a bad reputation, I guess. But anyway, Nia Nal?"

"Nia Nal," Brainy echoed dreamily, easily distracted. "She is only the most beautiful, strong, independent woman in the entire world."

"I see," Lena said with an amused smile. "I'm sure she would be pleased to hear you say that."

"Oh I have said it," Brainy replied.

Lena raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Indee-"

The door opened. "Hey!" Kara greeted, coming in with her backpack. "Hi Lena. You ready, Brainy?"

"Yes I am," Brainy nodded. "See you tomorrow, Lena."

"Bye Brainy," Lena replied with a wave.

The next day, as expected, Brainy came in while Lena was working. "I've made a decision," he told her without even a hello. "I'm going to tell Nia Nal that I'm in love with her."

Lena choked. "You're going to _what_?!"

"I'm going to tell her that I'm in love with her," Brainy repeated deliberately. "I believe I've told you about her already, and my feelings for her. Why is this news so very surprising to you?"

"It's- it's just-" Lena struggled to get her thoughts in order. "You've been here for less than a month, Brainy, right? How could you possibly get to know Nia so well that you are ready for that big of a step? I didn't even realize you guys were dating, honestly."

"Dating?" Brainy looked bewildered. "We're not dating."

Now Lena was confused. "So... you two are just friends for a few weeks and you're going to tell her you love her? I mean, I have never been to Spain. But in America we usually date people _before_ we confess our love to them. I really don't think you've known her long enough to know that you love her."

"Oh." Brainy sat down at a desk and put his hand thoughtfully on his chin. "So, if you liked someone, you wouldn't tell them?"

"Well, I would," Lena said. "But I wouldn't tell them I _loved_ them, at least not right away. I would... take it slow. My advice to you is to ask her out on a date. If she says yes, go on the date with her. If she says no, you'll know she's not interested and you will have barely put yourself out there. It's better than going all in and getting shut down. Less painful for both of you."

Brainy squinted at her. "I believe I _will_ ask her on a date," he said slowly. "Thank you very much, Lena."

The next day, Mon-El still wasn't better. Embarrassingly enough, Lena had been hoping for that so that she would have the chance to get an update on Brainy's status with Lena.

"I need help," Brainy sighed when he walked in. "I am not sure how to go about asking Nia Nal on a date. Should I bring her flowers? Should I put a note into her locker? Should I plan a speech?"

"No to flowers," Lena said immediately, though she might have been tapping into her own taste a little too much in that opinion. "No note, and no speech."

"Oh." Brainy let out another sigh. "Then I am back to square 1."

Lena frowned thoughtfully. "Valentine's Day is in a less than a week," she reminded him. "How about you do it then? You could ask her to dinner. And if that's too short of notice, you could not go on your date on Valentine's day, but you could still ask her then."

Brainy's eyes lit up. "That is a _great_ idea!" he cried, leaping to his feet. "Thank you again, Lena. This friendship of ours has been very helpful to me."

Lena laughed. "No problem, Brainy. Maybe you'll have to come back and visit me even when Mon-El is feeling better."

"And how about you?" Brainy asked after nodding vigorously to her suggestion.

"Me?"

"Yes, what are you doing for Valentine's Day? Is there someone special in your life that you would like to ask on a date?"

Lena bit her lip and glanced at the door. "Well..." she hedged, but Kara walked in at just that moment. Lena wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed when Brainy left before she could reply.

He remembered their conversation the next day when he showed up at the newspaper room. "Mon-El's _still_ sick?" Lena asked incredulously.

"His fever has broken but his mother made him stay home one more day, just in case," Brainy said. "Now, I would rather like to get back to the conversation we were having yesterday. You were just telling me about the someone you are going to ask on a date?"

"I- I never said I was asking anyone out," Lena said quickly, starting to blush. "I... _do_ have someone in mind, but you can't tell Kara or Mon-El, alright?"

Brainy's eyes went wide. "You like Mon-El?!" he gasped. "But he is dating Kara!"

"What?!" Lena shook her head. "Oh my gosh, no! I've never even met Mon-El! I like James."

Brainy frowned. "James..."

"Olsen," Lena supplied. "Tall black Senior? Incredibly handsome? Photographer?"

"Oh." Brainy was still frowning. "I do not believe that I know him."

That was perfectly fine with Lena. "The only reason I told you not to tell Kara or Mon-El is just that... I don't want anyone knowing. Also, I'm _sure_ that Kara would try to play matchmaker or something, and considering that I'm completely positive that James is interested in _Kara_... that would just be awkward."

"Oh, James is interested in Kara," Brainy said with certainty. "He asked her out about a week and a half ago. But she turned him down, so there is no problem there."

Lena's shoulders dropped. "I wasn't aware of that," she said quietly. "Well then, I guess there goes that."

"What on Earth do you mean?" Brainy asked, confused. "She turned him down! She doesn't love him! But you do!"

"I don't- I'm not- I don't _love_ James," Lena spluttered. "I think that he is good looking and easy to talk to, and I would be _interested_ in dating him. I don't know him nearly well enough to be in love."

"I saw Nia Nal and knew I was in love," Brainy sighed, looking dreamy like he did every time Nia's name was mentioned. "I was in love with her before I even knew her name."

Lena wasn't exactly sure how that worked, but she wasn't about to argue. Brainy seemed pretty set on the whole 'love' thing, so all she could do was hope it worked out for him and he wasn't completely rejected by Nia.

"That's... great," she said, shaking her head a little. "But I seriously don't love James. And I'm going to have to get over him, because if he was _just_ into Kara it's doubtful that he's going to be looking at me as anything more than a reminder of what he doesn't have if I ask him out or something."

Before Brainy could reply, Kara herself walked in. "Hey!" she said, though she looked less chipper and more tired today. Most kids did when Thursday came around. "Whatcha guys talking about?"

Brainy floundered for something to say, but Lena, as always, kept her cool. "Just discussing Nia Nal," she said, rolling her eyes in Kara's direction. "And Brainy's plan."

"Ohhh?" Kara asked, head turning to Brainy in question.

"Yes." Brainy folded his hands in front of him. "I will be asking Nia Nal on a date on Valentines' Day."

Kara let out a squeal so high-pitched that Lena almost covered her ears. "Oh, yay yay _yay_! I can't wait to tell Mon-El! He'll be so excited. Come on Brainy, let's bring you home."

Brainy headed out the door first, and Kara hung back for a second, the smile dropping off her face. "Thank you for convincing him _not_ to tell her he loves her," she told Lena, looked exasperated. "Because Mon-El and I have tried but it hasn't worked."

Lena laughed outright. "Anytime," she said. "Glad I could help."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Laurel and Alex were having a coffee together on Saturday when Laurel brought up the topic of Valentines' Day. "It's coming up," she said. "Like, on Tuesday."

"I know," Alex shrugged. "Don't worry; I have _plenty_ of ideas."

"That's what I'm worried about," Laurel told her slowly. "Alex... Maggie talked to me a few days ago, and told me that she really doesn't like Valentines' Day. She's thinks it's stupid and a couple years ago a girl she was super close with broke up with her _on Valentines' Day_."

"That's awful!" Alex cried, looking horrified. "What kind of sick person does that?"

Laurel shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "But my point is... don't go crazy, okay?"

"Laurel, if she had a bad experience on Valentine's Day, that's all the more reason _to_ go crazy," Alex protested. "Or, not crazy, maybe, but at least to do _something_. She needs to get that bad experience out of her head, or Valentines' Day is going to be ruined forever. And I mean... I like romance. As heartless as this sounds, if we're together she's going to have to be okay with that."

Laurel gave her a look. "Okay, don't turn this into a 'I refuse to change myself to fit the expectations of a relationship'."

"I wasn't going to!"

"Sure." Laurel shook her head and took a long sip of her coffee to figure out how to word her next point. "And I get that she needs to be okay with the romantic side of you. But you also need to respect when she isn't interested in something, or if she doesn't like it. And she told me, point blanc, that she doesn't like Valentines' Day."

Alex looked down at her coffee and swirled the stirrer around the liquid, looking conflicted. "Well, I already got the chocolates," she said finally, glancing up at Laurel to gauge her reaction. "So I'm going to keep my original plan of getting her those. But if you _really_ think it'll bother her, I won't get flowers or write her a poem or anything like that."

Laurel stopped halfway through raising her mug to her mouth. "...You wrote her a poem?"

"Shut up," Alex muttered. "It was an example."

"Uh huh," Laurel replied dubiously. "Well... I think I would stay away from the poems. We all know your track record with English."

Alex huffed, but didn't argue.

For a moment they sat in relative silence, drinking their coffee. "What about you?" Alex asked abruptly. "I haven't heard much about your romantic life of late."

"What romantic life?" Laurel asked with a laugh. "There's nothing to hear about; it doesn't exist."

"Come on, there's gotta be _someone_," Alex protested. "It's been two years since you dated Oliver! Is there no one in this school who you're interested in?"

"No," Laurel replied simply. "There's seriously not, Alex. I am waiting until college, or after, even, before I have another boyfriend. Besides, I've known everyone at the school except James Olsen and Sam Arias since, like Sophomore year. There's no one new to be interested in, and no one old that has suddenly changed so much that I have become interested in them."

"That's a fair point," Alex laughed. "I'd say 'what about James?' But he just asked my sister out."

Laurel shook her head wonderingly. "I really don't understand how he managed to _not_ know that Kara and Mon-El are dating. The entire school knows that they're dating. I swear that they're everyone's favorite couple."

"Uh, no," Alex disagreed. "I'd love to think that my little sister was AV High's favorite couple, but it's definitely Iris and Barry."

"You have a point," Laurel allowed. "Alright, but to get back to _my_ favorite couple... you won't go crazy on Valentines' Day?"

"No, I won't go crazy on Valentines' Day," Alex relented finally. "And thanks for letting me know how she feels. Getting in a fight with my girlfriend on the day that's supposed to celebrate love would kinda suck."

Laurel laughed and nodded. "Yes it would."

**Author's Note: Yes... I decided to avoid the Sanvers Valentines' Day fiasco, for the most part. Mostly because I legitimately hated that part on the show. But it's fineeee :P **

**UGH But Brainy and Lena tho! I love how she's always helping him with his romantic issues XD I wonder if Nia knows just how much he talks about them to her? **


	38. Chapter 38

**Author's Note: Felicity's outfit is featured in 7x08 of Arrow and Iris' is from 4x04 of the Flash. **

Felicity woke up with a giddy thrill of excitement that she quickly tried to stamp down. It may be Valentines' Day, and on top of that her first Valentines' Day with a boyfriend, but that didn't mean that anything more romantically exciting was going to happen than it had when she was single.

Still, the anticipation was enough to send her zooming out of bed and toward her dresser. She pulled out a ruffled pink top out of her drawer and threw it on, along with a pair of dark skinny jeans. Then she hurried to the bathroom to curl her hair before school, an unusual occurrence which would be apt to draw some attention.

Her mom had left her a heart-shaped piece of banana chocolate chip bread on the counter and a Dove chocolate to go with it. Felicity smiled and ate a quick breakfast before grabbing her bag and heading for the bus stop.

To her disappointment, Oliver was nowhere to be found when she got to school. She had a card for him in her backpack that she was hoping to give to him when they could have a little time alone, but it seemed that that wasn't in the plans, at least for that morning.

When she got to her first class, she was stopped by her homeroom teacher. "I was instructed to give this to you," she said with an amused smile on her face, handing Felicity a rose. "And don't ask me by who because I was sworn to secrecy."

"Uh..." Felicity felt her cheeks flushing as a few kids in the class already leaned forward in their seats to try and see what was going on in the doorway. "Thanks...?"

The teacher just laughed and walked back up to her desk.

Felicity had Calculous with John Diggle during her next period. She was met by by Non, who raised his eyebrow and handed her another rose. This one was a fiery yellow-orange, while the first one (which was now slowly dying in Felicity's locker with a damp paper towel around it's end because she had no idea what else to do with it) was red. She started blushing again and muttered an embarrassed: "Thanks," before grabbing the flower and rushing to her seat.

Diggle leaned back in his chair and smirked at her. "Nice flower," he teased.

"Shut up, John," Felicity muttered, turning even redder. "I swear, if Oliver set up for the teachers to give me a flower in _every class_..."

But that was exactly what he had done. Even during Felicity's study hall, the teacher watching over the room had dutifully handed her another rose. By the time the day was done, Felicity had a whole bouquet of roses, colored like a rainbow, in her locker.

She was just going to collect them all to try and rush them home before they died when she turned around and finally saw Oliver standing in front of her.

"Last one," he smiled, and handed her a pink rose to complete her rainbow. Felicity took it, unable to resist laughing. "You really went all out," she commended, shaking her head. "I thought you might do _something_, but I didn't think it was going to be so elaborate."

"I thought they were beautiful," Oliver shrugged. "Like you."

Felicity turned pink and quickly spun around. "Hang on, I got you something, too," she said quickly, rooting through her backpack. "It's kind of lame next to all the flowers, but..."

Oliver took her card with a smile and opened it up. The message inside read:

_Roses are red, Violets are blue_

_ My broken brain-to-mouth filter has never scared you_

_ Happy Valentines' Day, Oliver! I hope you enjoyed the reason that I refuse to take a poetry class :P _

Oliver laughed. "No, it scared me a little when I first met you," he teased. "Actually, it still scares me a little because I never know what's going to pop out of your mouth around my mother."

Felicity slapped him playfully in the shoulder, but then he had encircled her waist with his arms and she was forced to put her hands on his chest to avoid getting them locked down by her side. "Hi," she murmured, already lost in his eyes.

"I love the card," he said softly. "Thank you."

Then he leaned down and kissed her, and Felicity finally realized that yes, there was a spark, it was right there and it was exploding all over her at that very moment.

Oliver pulled slowly back and smiled. "Happy Valentines' Day, Felicity Smoak."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Iris woke up with considerably less anticipation than Felicity had. She had gone through plenty of Valentines' Days, and anniversaries, and birthdays and Christmases and other assorted holidays with a boyfriend in years past, and it lost it's eager anticipation vibe after awhile.

Still, she moved a little faster than usual in dressing in a cute, two piece mauve jumpsuit and hurrying down stairs. She was, at the very least, excited to give Barry his gift.

"Hey there, baby girl," Joe West said as she planted a kiss on his cheek in greeting. "Sleep well?"

"Yep," Iris replied. "Happy Valentines' Day!"

"You too," Joe smiled. "There's a special treat in the bread drawer if you're interested."

Iris was very much interested. She found a chocolate muffin and was about to grab a plate when a drowsy Barry Allen walked down the stairs. "Happy Valentines' Day, babe," Iris said with a wide smile as he pecked her on the lips.

"Happy Valentines' Day, Iris," Barry replied. "I got you something but it's upstairs."

"I'll heat up our muffins if you want to grab it...?" Iris prompted eagerly. "I have something for you, too, but it's in the cupboard."

Barry frowned, his hand already on the banister. "Weren't you afraid I would see it?"

Iris smirked. "It was in the tea."

Barry, who hated tea with a passion, nodded his understanding and hurried up stairs. Iris had just shut the toaster door on their muffins and grabbed Barry's gift when her boyfriend trundled back down the stairs holding a box.

"So, I know you've got a lot of these already, and a lot from me," Barry began, presenting it to her with a sheepish smile. "But I saw it when I was out window-shopping with Caitlin and Cisco, and I just couldn't resist picking it up for you."

"Okay..." Iris said curiously, taking the box and opening it up eagerly. Inside was a pendent with with a circular charm at the end. It was tan, like parchment paper, and had the word "writer" in classic typewriter font. Iris beamed down at it. "Oh, Barry, I love it; it's perfect."

"This is just another step in me convincing you to join the school newspaper," Barry teased. "But I also thought it'd be pretty with your skin tone."

"I love that you think about stuff like that," Iris snickered. She passed him his gift. "Alright, I'm hoping you share some but if you don't want to then I suppose that's alright."

Barry opened up his gift to find a box of Doctor Who themed chocolates. "Oh my gosh!" he cried. "Cisco is going to _freak_ when he sees these. Where did you find them?"

"I have my sources," Iris replied cryptically, pecking him on the cheek. "Happy Valentines' Day. Again."

Then the toaster went off and they sat down to breakfast.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"I can't believe we got each other the same box of chocolates," Mon-El sighed as he and Kara walked to their lockers.

Kara burst into giggles, just like she had when she had opened up her present from Mon-El and see a box of assorted chocolates from their favorite confectionary shop. "You got- you got so offended- when I started laughing," she wheezed.

"I thought you thought that chocolate was like lame or something," Mon-El defended himself. "But then you handed me your package and I saw what was going on."

"I really cannot believe we got the exact same one," Kara sighed, still giggling a little.

"Great minds think alike," Mon-El quoted.

Kara snorted. "I mean, I'm not going to complain," she shrugged as she opened up her locker door and placed her new box of chocolates carefully inside. "I picked out those chocolates because I thought you'd like them, but also because _I_ like them and was hoping you'd share them."

Mon-El laughed. "I'd give you a hard time for that, but I had basically the same thought process," he admitted. "Well I guess it works out; we won't have to share."

Kara smiled innocently at him. "But... what if I _really_ want your sea salt caramel?"

"Hey, the sea salt caramel is mine!" Mon-El protested, holding his box of chocolates above his head just in case she made a grab for it. "Eat your own."

Kara snorted again. "No promises I might eat _both_," she said, and shut her locker.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Brainy took a deep breath as he walked through the doors of AV High. He had made it there. Now all he had to do was find Nia, and tell her how he felt. Should be easy, right?

The first time he saw Nia was at lunch. Brainy was about to go and sit with her and confess all, as well as give her a paper flower he had made with Mon-El's minimal craft supplies the night before, but he chickened out.

"What are you doing?" Kara asked him, trying to nudge him out of his seat. "Go talk to her!"

"I cannot," Brainy said, stomach turning at even the idea of it. "If I get rejected I'll have to go the rest of the day with the knowledge that Nia Nal feels absolutely nothing for me. If I tell her at the end of the day, I can go home and cry without having to wait even a minute."

"Oh, Brainy." Kara patted his shoulder. "She's not going to reject you."

"That's a good plan though, man," Mon-El said, a little more realistically. "That's smart. Just make sure you actually do it, okay? Or else Kara will get mad at _me_."

Brainy laughed weakly, sending a quick glance over his shoulder. Nia was looking over and Brainy turned red, whipping back around.

The end of the day came very slowly. Brainy's hands were shaking by the time he raced out of his last class and tried to catch sight of Nia in the crowded hallway. He caught her just before she was heading to the parking lot. "Nia! Nia Nal!"

Nia spun around. "Brainy!" she cried, looking surprised. "Uh... what's up?"

"I-" Brainy's voice cracked and he flushed with embarrassment and cleared his throat. "This is for you."

He presented her with his paper flower, which was slightly crumpled after a full day in his bag. Nia took it with wide eyes. "Aw, Brainy... did you make this?"

"Last night," Brainy said, letting out a relieved sigh at her positive reaction to his handmade gift. "I wanted to add glitter but... Mon-El didn't have any."

Nia laughed. "That's alright," she assured him. "Glitter tends to get everywhere. And then there's, like, sparkles all of everything and people are looking at you weird because you have them on your face or something."

"Indeed," Brainy agreed, wishing she would either just keep talking so that he didn't have to say anything else and could get off the hook about telling her how he felt, or that she would shut up so he could just get everything off his chest already.

Silence fell. It seemed that Brainy would have to take the latter option.

He took a deep breath. "Uh, so... I was wondering if you would like to- to- to-"

"To...?"

"Ir a una cita conmigo?" Brainy blurted, so nervous he lapsed into Spanish.

Nia blinked a few times. "Uh... si...?" she replied slowly, unsure if she had translated him right. "Lo siento, mi espanol es... malo."

Brainy thought he might faint. Hearing Nia Nal talk in his native language was something that he had never thought would happen, and it was probably his new favorite thing in the entire world. "Hablas espanol?" he asked dumbly.

"Uh, si, un poco," Nia shrugged. "Lo... took it... en la secundaria...? Sorry, can we please talk in English?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Brainy said quickly, star struck. "Uh, so, that's a yes? For a- a date?"

"Cita," Nia translated. "You asked me if I wanted to go on a date with you."

"Yes."

"Yes," Nia repeated.

"Yes you'd like to go on a date with me?"

"_Yes_," Nia said again, more vehemently, and laughed. "Yes, si, oui... yeah that's all the languages I know."

Brainy was about to rattle off five more, but he figured now wasn't the time. "That- that is good," he managed, her answer finally registering and giving him a thrill of excitement. "I should- I should go find Mon-El."

"Okay," Nia giggled, blushing a little. "So... text me about a place and time and date?"

"Yes, of course," Brainy said eagerly, starting to back away. "Goodbye, Nia Nal. Have a lovely rest of your day."

"Thanks, you too," Nia beamed. "Uh... Adios, Brainy!"

"Adios, Nia."

They finally both broke eye contact, and then came to the conclusion that they were walking in the same direction. By the time Brainy finally found Mon-El in the parking lot, he was beet red. "So...?" Mon-El prompted hopefully. "How did it go?"

"It went _very_ well," Brainy cried, grabbing his hand and giving it a vigorous shake. "She agreed to go on a date with me. Me! Nia Nal is going on a date with _me_!"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Hello, mate," Julian said, greeting Caitlin with a kiss on her cheek as he slid into the seat next to her in homeroom. "Happy Valentines' Day."

"Happy Valentines' Day, Julian," Caitlin replied with a wide smile. She handed him a neat white envelope with a faint flower design in the corner. "I didn't get you chocolate or flowers, I hope that's okay."

"Quite alright," Julian agreed, giving her a similar white envelope. "I took the same route."

Caitlin nodded her appreciation as she took the card. It wasn't that she disliked flowers or chocolate (dark chocolate, especially, was always appreciated). She just felt that, if you were dating someone, gifts should be especially personal. Jewelry could be personal, if it was tasteful and well picked out and meant something. But cards were the most personal of all.

Julian opened her card first. _Dear Julian, _it read. _I was thinking last night about how grateful I am that I could be sitting at a desk and writing a Valentines' card to my kind, handsome, funny, brilliant boyfriend. If you had told me this time last year that I would have someone like you in my life the way you are, I never would have believed it. But I am so glad that you _are_ in my life. _

_ Love,_

_ Caitlin _

"Aww, Caitlin..." Julian gave her an affectionate half-smile and and quick kiss. "That's a very sweet note."

"I painted the heart on the front, too," Caitlin told him proudly, rearranging the card in his hand so that the cover was showing.

"Beautiful," Julian commended. "Just like you."

She smiled, and glanced away from him to open her own card.

_Dear Caitlin,_

_ I will warn you that I'm not very good at writing cards that aren't formal thank you notes to my great aunts when they send me presents at Christmas. But I just wanted to let you know that you are the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I know that may sound dramatic, but it's true. You make me happier than anyone in the world ever has before, and you deal with me when I'm being an annoying git, and you have an infinite amount of patience with me in my many failings. So thank you. Happy Valentines' Day 3_

_ -Julian _

"Julian..." Caitlin closed the card and gave him a fond but stern look. "One: that was a very nice card. And two: you do not have many failings, and you're _rarely_ an annoying git."

"Ouch," Julian snickered, putting his hand over his heart in mock-offense. "You women are brutal."

"Shut up," Caitlin told him, rolling her eyes. "Don't turn my compliment into an insult."

"Yes ma'am," Julian teased, kissing her on the cheek. "Happy Valentines' Day. And... just because, you know, you probably already know it... I love you."

Caitlin's breath caught and she looked up at him with wide eyes. She had written 'Love, Caitlin' in her card, but she wrote love for everyone: her family, her girlfriends, even Cisco and Barry from time to time (though she rarely wrote them notes).

Julian quickly backtracked. "Too much?" he asked, looking nervous. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, it's alright." Caitlin took his hands. "Of course it's alright. I love you, too, Julian."

"Oh." He swallowed, face lighting up a little. "Well. That's good."

Caitlin laughed and let go of his hands, busing herself with shuffling her card back into its envelope for safe-keeping. "Yes it is," she said with a fond shake of her head. "Yes it is."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Alex was nervous for the first time in awhile to see Maggie leaning against her locker in the morning. She took a deep breath, holding her box of heart shaped dark chocolates in her hands and hoping it wasn't too cringy or sappy for Maggie's taste.

"Uh, hi," Alex said slowly once she was in earshot. "So, I'm going to preface this with saying that Laurel told me you don't like Valentines' Day, but she told me like three days before, and I had already gotten these. So... I guess if you want to we could just pretend that it's just me randomly getting you chocolate if we want to pretend like the holiday doesn't exist."

"Alex..." Maggie said, taking the box and peeking inside. "Thank you. I love dark chocolate."

"I know."

"And... thank you for not doing anything crazy," Maggie continued, rubbing her thumb against the top of box. "And I'm sorry."

Alex tucked her hands in her pockets and shifted a little. She would have to remembered to thank Laurel profusely when she got the chance. "For what?"

"For a lot of things," Maggie shrugged. "For not being interested in enjoying Valentines' Day together. For not having told you myself that I didn't enjoy it. And the worst part is, if Laurel hadn't said anything, I probably would have gotten mad at you today for doing something big. I wish that I- that I could enjoy it. I know that you love Valentines' Day."

Alex scoffed, downplaying like crazy. "What? Me? It's whatever. I mean, totally a Hallmark holiday." The words felt foreign in her mouth. She had never thought that she'd be a person to say that kind of thing.

Maggie gave her a look. "Alex, I saw your post last year where you went on and on about how much you were looking forward to the day that you could celebrate Valentines' Day with your significant other so that you could show them in a bunch of little ways how much you love them."

"Maggie, I didn't even know you last Valentines' Day," Alex reminded her with a short laugh. "How the heck did you see that post? Have you been stalking me on social media?"

Maggie blushed. "I can neither confirm nor deny that," she mumbled, embarrassed. "Point being: you like Valentines' Day, and now I feel guilty because while you were over there respecting that I _don't_, I never paid any attention to the fact that you _do_."

Alex was starting to get confused. "Wait... so would you have rather had me do something big and extravagant for you for Valentines' Day?"

"No," Maggie replied quickly. "But maybe I should have done something big and extravagant... for _you_."

Alex shrugged. "What's done is done," she murmured, trying not to seem too down in the dumps. "You could share your chocolate with me, to make up for it."

Maggie laughed, opened up the box, and handed her a piece.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Thea sat down with Roy for lunch. She would have, of course, wish that her friends could have joined her so she could have spent time with him and also heard their Valentines' Day experiences, but that wasn't likely to happen.

"I suppose you want me to say Happy Valentines' Day," Roy sighed as she put her lunch box down and slid into the seat next to him.

"I wouldn't mind it," Thea shrugged. "Happy Valentines' Day, Roy."

"Happy Valentines' Day, Thea," Roy echoed with another sigh. There was reluctance in his tone but Thea knew he didn't actually mind. "If you were expecting me to get you a present you are going to be disappointed."

"I know you better than to expect a present," Thea shot back. "But while we're on the topic, I would like to ask you to dinner."

"Oh?" Roy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Dinner. Tonight?"

"I don't know, whenever." Thea shrugged, unconsciously repeating what Roy usually said when _she_ asked about timing.

He, however, noticed, and called her out on it. "You're starting to sound like me."

"Then you'll finally understand how annoying it is," Thea teased, before winking at him. "Just kidding. So dinner?"

"Sure," Roy agreed. "But I'm not paying."

"You never do," she replied fondly, and kissed him on the cheek.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Sara and Leonard were sitting on the grass. Sara was waiting for Laurel to pick her up, and Leonard was waiting with her because he had nothing else to do and because that's what he always did.

"Yo." Sara's back straightened suddenly. "Dude. What day is it?"

"Uh, dude," Leonard repeated with a smirk. "It's February 14th...?"

"It's Valentines' Day?!"

Leonard turned his head and gave her an incredulous look. "How the _heck_ has that managed to avoid your attention _all day_?!"

"Well I mean..." Sara looked bewildered. "I thought that everyone was being weirdly romantic and gift-happy. I thought Valentines' Day was Thursday! Why did I think it was Thursday?"

"I have no idea."

She punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up. Sorry if you wanted like chocolate or something."

"I'm all set," Leonard snickered. "Though... I have been meaning to ask you, since it's coming up pretty soon... do you want to go to Winter Formal with me?"

"No," Sara said immediately.

The expectant smile dropped off of Leonard's face. "Oh," he murmured. "I mean, I get it. I basically ruined your homecoming-"

"Oh stop." Sara shook her head. "You know I forgave you for that ages and ages ago. I said no because I'm not going to Winter Formal. My dad does this Winter Dance at our house every year instead, and Laurel and I can bring a date or a friend. Usually I'm alone because Thea and Iris go to Winter Formal, but this year I can bring you!"

"Oh," Leonard repeated, looking relieved, before he got worried again. "Uh... and your dad... he'll be there?"

"Yep." Sara winced. "Probably I'll, uh, fill him in about the fact that we're, you know... dating. I mean, he's _probably_ already guessed but you never know with men."

The worry was gone as Leonard smirked. "Yes, I suppose you never do," he grinned, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Happy Valentines' Day, Sara."

"Happy Valentines' Day, Leonard."

**Author's Note: AHH SO MANY THINGS TO COMMENT ON HAPPENED IN THIS EPISODE (wait hang on chapter I meant chapter). OKAY lets take it one at a time. **

**1: FELICITY AND OLIVER KISSED AWLJH ALKNAWE OMG! I DIDN'T EVEN PLAN IT THEY JUST DID IT I'M SO PROUD OF THEM!**

**2: Didja get my little joke with Karamel and the Caramel..? XD Actually... I didn't plan for that either I was just skimming through and um... I noticed so if you didn't catch it I don't blame you XD**

**3: CAITLIN AND JULIAN SAID THEIR I-LOVE-YOUS?! I DIDN'T PLAN THAT _EITHER_ WHAT THE HECKKKK :D :D **

**4: Lol I love Sara and Leonard. That's all I need to say XD**

**Alright! I hope you guys enjoyed this longer-than-average chapter. I know I did! Tho I think there was more kissing in it than like any chapter of AV High combined XD **


	39. Chapter 39

**Author's Note: YAYYY we're 1 away from fortyyyy :D :D (Alex's outfit is from 4x12 of Supergirl, for the record :) **

When Alex laid down to bed on Tuesday night, she thought that her Valentines' Day was over. As much as she hated to admit it (and she hadn't admitted it to anyone), her _mother _had actually done a better job than Maggie at making her Valentines' Day great. Eliza had welcomed a glowing Kara and a grumpy Alex home from school with fresh baked brownies, which they made into ice cream sundays for their after-school snack. Then they had homemade waffles with a whole waffle bar (chocolate chips included) for dinner, and another brownie each because they were just that good. Alex went to bed stuffed and mostly contented.

But the whole thing with Maggie was still eating at her. She hated when she was in a relationship and she did something that Laurel referred to as "settling". Alex just liked to call it "giving in", but she didn't know which it was in this case. Was Maggie just not interesting in Valentines' Day because she had some bad experiences? Or was she just not a romantic person? Alex found that hard to believe, considering the night (morning?) Maggie had come to her house and confessed her feelings to her.

Alex groaned and rolled over. What did it matter? She and Maggie were happy. This was pretty much the first thing that _hadn't_ worked with the two of them. Considering that, she really shouldn't complaining.

Still, it was pretty late by the time she finally fell asleep, and she was not at all happy when her alarm woke her up the next morning. She groaned and hit snooze, but then Kara burst into her room. "Alex!" she cried. "Get ready quick, and look cute! There's someone here to see you and I think you're _reeeally_ gonna want to see what she has!"

Brain muddled with sleepy confusion, Alex stared blankly at her sister. "What?" she mumbled finally.

Kara sighed and hurried over to Alex's bureau. "Wear this and this and this," she instructed, throwing a red flannel, a black biker jacket, and a pair of dark grey skinny jeans on Alex's bed. "And brush your hair."

"Of course I'm going to brush my hair," Alex protested, rubbing her eyes and pushing back her covers.

"Awesome," Kara replied immediately. "Now I'm gonna head back downstairs. Change as fast as you can, Alex!"

Blearily, Alex picked up her clothes and changed, and then wandered over to her mirror to fix up her hair and put some mascara and concealer on. Then, checking one last time to make sure she didn't look like a zombie, she picked up her backpack and books from where they were leaning against the wall and headed downstairs.

She only had two steps left when someone sitting at the kitchen counter caught her eye and she slipped and fell the rest of the way down the stairs. "Alex!" Maggie cried, leaping to her feet and looking like she was trying not to laugh. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Alex grumbled, getting to her feet and rubbing her tailbone. She would probably have a bruise on her back, but that was a concern for another time. "Not to be rude but... what the _heck_ are you doing here?"

"That was rude, Alex," Eliza spoke up from the sink. "Can I offer you breakfast, Maggie? I would have made something if I'd known you were coming. But we have some cereal...?"

"Oh no no, it's totally fine," Maggie said quickly. "To be honestly _I_ didn't even know I was coming until this morning." She stood up and walked over to Alex, taking her hands. "I wasn't fair to you at _all_ yesterday," she said. "You were so incredibly respectful of the fact that I don't really enjoy Valentines' Day, but I didn't seem to care at all about how _you_ felt about it. So, I know it's a little late, but..."

She led Alex through her kitchen and outside. There was a huge bouquet of flowers in multiple shades of pinks. "You remembered that I think roses are cliché," was all that Alex could think to say as her eyes teared up a little.

"Of course I did." Maggie threaded an arm around her waist and rested her head on Alex's shoulder. "So what do you think?"

"I love them," Alex murmured. "They're going to go in my room and I'm going to make sure that they live for like an entire month before my terrible gardening skills doom them to an early death."

Maggie laughed. "That sounds perfect," she said. "Now... could I stay for breakfast? I always like trying new kinds of cereal."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Thea was at lunch when she suddenly let out a very depressed sigh. Sara sent her a side glance. "Uh... what's wrong?"

Thea seemed pleased that someone had asked. "I'm _very_ concerned, Sara," she said. "Everyone has been so focused on Valentines' Day that they've completely forgotten about Winter Formal!"

Sara snorted. "I forget that you don't have real life problems," she told her friend dryly. "Well, for your information, I asked Leonard to my Winter Party yesterday. So I'm all set, and so's Laurel because she's not bringing anyone, because Maggie and Alex want to go to their first dance together."

"I don't see why you're worried, Thea," Iris spoke up. "Of course Roy will agree to go with you."

Thea looked amused. "He might," she agreed dubiously, glancing over her shoulder at Roy, who was, as usual, sitting contentedly alone at his table in the far corner. "You never know with that boy. Besides, I'm not worried about _me_, or even you or Sara. I'm worried about everyone else. Has everyone forgotten that Winter Formal is coming up in less than a week? Girls need to get dresses and everyone needs to get dates, and I haven't heard _any_ talk about it."

Sara shook her head. "I really don't get why AV High does it so close to Valentines' Day."

"Well," Iris said thoughtfully. "I think it's because it's part Winter Formal, part Valentines Dance. They don't do very many dances at our school so I guess they're kind of combining them."

"Is _that_ why there were so many heart-themed things last year?" Thea asked, realization dawning. "I was wondering."

Sara shrugged. "Anyway, everyone's going to be fine, Thea. Do you want to go dress shopping this weekend to make yourself feel better?"

Thea nodded vigorously. "I was hoping you'd ask," she grinned. "And my mom _should_ actually let me, unlike ice skating last weekend, because I talked to Caitlin and she helped me out and I passed my chemistry exam with a whopping C+."

The girls clapped and Thea smiled proudly. "Anyway, I'm sure my mom will say yes, and then we can find our outfits and it'll be perfect."

They ate their lunch for a little bit in silence, and then Iris spoke up. "Ohhh so I have some tea," she said, leaning forward.

"Uh, spill," Thea ordered, sandwich forgotten.

"Okay. So you remember Ray Palmer? He was dating Kendra for like a few months early on this year- they went to homecoming together. _Well_, rumor has it that after they broke up and she went back to Carter, Ray met this girl named Nora Darhk."

Sara's jaw dropped. "Nora Darhk? Like Damien Darhk our psychology teacher's daughter? The bad girl?"

"Yeah," Iris confirmed. "And I _heard_ -it's unconfirmed as of yet- that they have started dating."

"_No_," Thea gasped. "Roy Palmer? Happy-go-lucky optimistic friendly to everyone nerdy Ray Palmer? With _Nora Darhk_?"

"Awwwww..." Sara looked touched. "It kinda reminds me of me and Len, just in reverse."

Thea shook her head fondly. "Okay, sappy," she teased, and checked her watch. "Alright, I'm going to clean up my lunch and head to the bathroom before class. I'll text you guys about dress shopping though, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Sara agreed, saluting. "See you later."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Alright," Barry Allen said as he folded his hands in front of him. "I call this meeting to order."

Cisco, sitting across from him, snorted and reached for another snack. There were three options: salt and vinegar potato chips, cheetos, and doritos. He went for a cheeto. "Dude, you're making this seem like a life and death situation. It's just Winter Formal."

Julian let out a humorless laugh. "_Just_ Winter Formal?" he asked, a slightly crazed expression on his face. "Easy for you to say, mate. You don't have a girlfriend coming who's gonna be counting on the perfect night."

Barry sent him a glance. "Like you have any reason to be worried," he scoffed. "Caitlin is so low key."

"Caitlin?" Julian's head slowly turned towards Barry. "Low key? Are we talking about the same Caitlin here?"

Barry opened his mouth to protest but Cisco started speaking, not having registered much of the past few moments of conversation. "I wish Gypsy could come," he sighed. "But she had to go to her father's... something. I don't know, I think it was a sport tournament or something? Or maybe a work thing. Or... possibly both. Anyway, it'd be nice if my girlfriend could actually come to a dance with me one time."

Barry was immediately distracted from the matter of Caitlin being or not being considered 'low key.' "Girlfriend?!" he gaped, goggling at Cisco. "Whoa whoa whoa! Since _when_ do you have a girlfriend?!"

Julian shook his head. "Jeez, mate. I know that and I'm not even on Instagram."

"Yeah, but your girlfriend talks to you every day about everything. I'm apart of everything and so's my romantic life, so she told you," Cisco accused. " 'Cause I certainly did not."

"Guilty." Julian held up his hands in surrender.

"Wait, wait." Barry shook his head, still digesting this new information. "Dude! How could you not tell me?"

"I must have!" Cisco protested. "I did! That time when.. or maybe... actually, scratch that. I never told you. Sorry man. You know now!"

Barry leaned back and crossed his arms grumpily. "I can't believe you didn't tell me," he muttered.

"Getting back to Winter Formal," Julian redirected. "What is everyone's game plan? Besides Cisco. Who I'm sure that Barry only invited out of pity because he thought you didn't have a girlfriend."

Cisco looked accusingly at Barry. "You said that you invited me because of my romantic expertise!" he cried.

"I did!" Barry replied quickly, shooting a look at Julian. "I would _never_ pity invite my best friend. Now, uh, game plans. I'm going to get a tie to match Iris' dress -which she's refused to let me see, by the way- and a new bottle of nail polish that will also match, because Sara hinted that Iris was frustrated that she didn't have one."

"All good, all good," Julian said, nodding his approval. "Caitlin has, thankfully, showed me her dress so I'll get a tie to compliment it as well. I just don't know what else to do. She has talked to me about how she thinks that chocolates and flowers are very impersonal, which is why we did cards for Valentines' Day, but I don't know if that impersonal thing only applies to Valentines' Day or if it goes for all gifts."

"Hmm..." Cisco murmured thoughtfully. "Let me think..."

"So what does her dress look like?" Barry asked as the man with the 'romantic expertise' considered the problem.

"Dark red velvet," Julian said, trying to remember more details. "Sleeveless, I think?"

"Uh oh." Barry winced. "Iris' is dark red velvet, too. I hope it's not the same dress. She wouldn't say anything, but I don't think she'd like that."

Julian winced, too. "I think that Caitlin found it at some quirky shop with unique items somewhere," he said. "So hopefully that means that they won't be the same. I mean, it's a winter dress. There's gotta be lots of dark red velvet out there, right?"

"Aha!" Cisco cried before Barry could respond. "I've got it. Lipstick!"

"Lipstick?" Julian asked dubiously. "As a gift? Don't girls hate it when you get them makeup? I'm pretty sure Caitlin has told me that before."

"Don't worry," Cisco told him, waving a hand nonchalantly. "Lipstick's different than foundation and stuff. You can't really go wrong with it. At least... I don't think you can."

Julian shrugged. "It's the best idea we've got," he sighed. "Guess I'm heading to Sephora. Either of you want to come with?"

Suddenly, the other boys were very much less eager to be helpful.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Brainy was on another mission. His date with Nia had gone very well, and he had decided (with some gentle prompting from Mon-El and Kara) to ask her to Winter Formal. He found her in almost the exact same spot that he had when he had asked her out.

"Hello, Nia Nal," Brainy greeted. "How was your day?"

"Fine, thanks." Nia smiled over at him. "How about you?"

"It is better now that I am talking to you," Brainy said, a little cheesily. "But... it would be even better if you agreed to go to Winter Formal with me."

Nia frowned for a second. "Wait so... is that you asking me to go to Winter Formal with you?"

"Indeed," Brainy agreed. "What do you say?"

"I would say yes," Nia acquiesced immediately. "Thank you for asking me now. Because I think I need to get a dress."

"I do believe that dresses is what people wear to Winter Formals," Brainy agreed. "Well... woman. I believe that the woman wear dresses. I think that I will wear a suit." He frowned thoughtfully. "I do not believe that I brought a suit to America. I will have to ask Mon-El if he has an extra."

Nia's face transformed a little. "Huh," she murmured, sticking her hands into the pockets of her winter coat. "You're going to have to be going back to Spain at the end of the year, aren't you?"

"Well, yes." Brainy blinked, the thought not having occurred to him.

"That's pretty far," Nia continued, forcing a laugh and trying to act like this was just a causal, light conversation. "Time difference, too."

"I will be almost precisely six hours ahead," Brainy agreed. "So when you wake up in the morning, I will be eating lunch. And when you are going to sleep, it will be very early in the morning for me."

"Yeah," Nia swallowed. "Uh, anyway. Are Kara and Mon-El going to Winter Formal together?"

Brainy was a little confused by the sudden switch of topic, but he went with it. Nia had been filled in on everything Mon-El and Kara related on her and Brainy's first date, and he was working on her to come and sit with them at lunch sometimes, or even to hang out the four of them. "Yes," he told her. "Kara went dress shopping recently. She showed me her dress, but made me promise not tell Mon-El, because she wants it to be a surprise."

"Gotcha," Nia laughed. "What does it look like?"

"It is blue and flowered," Brainy informed her. "But not a flower pattern."

Nia frowned, trying to picture it. In truth, she had never gone to a Winter Formal before, and was looking for some guide on what kind of dress she should be looking for.

Brainy seemed to read her mind. "I could ask Kara to send you a picture, if you would like?" he offered. "I would offer to assist you, but I don't think that I really understand the female dress fashion."

Nia laughed again. "No, no, it's alright," she said quickly. "I mean, I'd love Kara's advice, if she wants to give it. But maybe I want to make my dress a surprise, too. At least for you."

Brainy dipped his chin. "Understood," he said. "And now, Nia Nal, I must leave you. I wish you luck with your dress shopping."

"Thanks," Nia grinned. "Bye, Brainy."

**Author's Note: CLOTHES ARE FUNNNNN :D :D I have all of them picked out from different episodes for Winter Formal, as I did for Homecoming. I'll have them all listed next chapter :) **


	40. Chapter 40

**Author's Note: AHHH IT'S CHAPTER 40! Congrats on making it to another milestone with me, you guys :) Thanks for sticking with it. **

**(Also, sorry that I'm posting this on Monday... I'm on vacation and wifi is pretty bad)**

**The dresses included in this chapter are from the following episodes:**

**Arrow**

**Laurel: 2x10**

**Thea: 2x08**

**Felicity: 4x07**

**Flash**

**Iris: 3x09**

**Caitlin: 4x09**

**Supergirl**

**Alex: 2x04**

**Kara: 3x09**

**Maggie: 2x04**

**Nia: 4x10**

**Legends:**

**Sara: 6x08, on the Arrow side of the Crossover**

"Who else thinks that getting ready is the most fun part of dances?" Iris asked as she pulled a brush through her long, dark, silky hair.

"All one else of me does," Thea snorted.

Iris winced. "Sorry; I forgot Sara wasn't here," she explained, putting down the brush and checking to see if the curling iron had heated up enough. It had, so she picked it up, along with her first chunk of hair.

Thea had already done her hair (a small braid going into mess of curls), and was shimmying into her dress. "Hey, can you clip me?" she asked, fumbling at the thin strap in the back of her dress that held it closed. She was dressed in a dark blue, floor length gown with an almost completely open back, medium-thick sleeveless straps, and triangle shapes cut out of the sides.

"You got it," Iris said, finishing up with the section of hair and scrunching it before letting the curl fall to her shoulders, and the iron fall to the table. She hurried over and quickly closed Thea's dress. "That thing is gorgeous."

"Yours is actually Christmasy, though," Thea said, sounding displeased. "I mean, don't get me wrong- I _adore_ this dress. But yours is all velvet and stuff."

Iris pulled a face. "Yeah, but Barry told me that Julian told _him_ that Caitlin has a red velvet dress, too. I really hope it's not the same one."

"Yeah, that would suck," Thea agreed. "For prom, all of us ladies should totally shop together, to avoid any repeats within the extended friend group."

"A wise idea," Iris agreed, picking her curling iron back up. "You want to use my makeup?"

Thea's eyes lip up. "Ooh, sure!" she said excitedly, though in truth she had secretly hoping Iris would ask. She walked over to Iris' vanity and peered through her eyeshadow pallets. "I brought some of my foundation and stuff. I don't think we'll exactly be a color tone match, ya know."

Iris snickered. "What makes you think that?" she asked dryly, glancing over her shoulder to grin at Thea.

Thea stuck her tongue out at her in retaliation and dumped her makeup supplies on Iris' desk. Iris turned back to her hair.

In a different bedroom elsewhere in the city, another group of girls was getting ready for Winter Formal. "Thanks for having me over," Caitlin said to Felicity as she rooted through her lipsticks to find a color that would match her dress. Luckily for Iris, Julian had been right, and it was _not_ the same dark red, velvety dress that Iris had gotten.

"You're going to be doing my hair," Felicity replied, glancing over her shoulder as she pushed sparkly earrings into her ears. "So _I_ should be thanking _you_."

"And I should be thanking both of you, because Alex decided to ditch me this year," Kara said from the Felicity's bed. She was somehow already ready, dressed in a blue dress that, as Brainy had tried to describe, was made up of flower-shaped pieces of cloth over a nude base.

"And _I_ should also be thanking you guys, because you don't even know me," Nia put in, laughing. She was wearing a metallic, silver-blue dress with a flare at the bottom, speckled with tiny pink flowers.

"Kara can be _very_ convincing," Felicity said, grinning. "And the more the merrier. Caitlin, are you almost ready to do my hair?"

"Yes, yes, one second." Caitlin dabbed her lips on a tissue to get rid of the excess lipstick and then hurried over to Felicity. "Up like that picture you sent me?"

Felicity nodded her agreement and Caitlin got to work with a brush and a mouthful of bobby pins.

Nia bent down to adjust the straps on her shoes. "I've actually only been to one dance before," she admitted. "In middle school they all seemed crazy lame, and early on in high school I started accepting that was transgender and went through that whole process. So there was no _way_ a guy was going to be taking me to dance. The one dance I did go to... yeah, that was not a good experience. Kara, will you curl my hair?"

Kara shook her head, while Caitlin and Felicity exchanged well-concealed glances of surprise. They actually hadn't known Nia was trans until that moment. "That's awful," Kara sighed, walking over and picking up the curling iron that was lying, still plugged in, on Felicity's desk. "I really wish that people could be more open minded about things like that. And yes, I'll curl your hair."

"Thanks," Nia said, grinning up at her before Kara forced her to straighten out her head so that she could work. "And yeah, me too. Obviously."

"I didn't know you're trans, Nia," Felicity said, unable to turn her head. "When did you figure it out? Ow! Caitlin, pin."

"Sorry," Caitlin mumbled.

"Well, I mean, I've always known," Nia shrugged. "Okay, so I didn't know when I was like two. But I think that around the time when I started figuring out the difference between guys and girls.. I always knew I was a female."

Felicity nodded, and then apologized as Caitlin gently scolded her. "I think that's really cool," she admitted. "Like, when you come out as something like trans or LGTBQ+, I feel like people might look down on you but if it's really legit, you have a better understanding of yourself than most."

"I never looked at it like that," Kara admitted. "But I like that. I know when Alex came out as lesbian she always said that she felt like she was finding her true self for the first time in her life. It was more than just dating different people. It was getting a whole big chunk of herself locked into place."

Nia smiled around at them. "Goodness, for a group of straight girls you have a remarkable understanding of discovering your sexual identity."

They laughed, and then fell into a comfortable silence as Kara and Caitlin continued styling hair. Caitlin finished first and stepped back to survey Felicity. "That's really pretty," she said with a smile. Felicity's hair was up in a french twist, and it had a navy blue and silver snowflake tucked into the back (courtesy of Caitlin who, as everyone found out at Halloween, had an abundance of snow-related things). The snowflake was the same shade as her dark blue dress, and the silver matched the round, metallic strap that went around Felicity's neck and kept the dress up.

"Alright Nia, you're all done, too." Kara had taken some creative license and pinned a few strands of Nia's long, dark hair up.

Nia peeped into the mirror. "I love it," she beamed. "Thanks Kara."

"You all look beautiful," Caitlin told them, smiling around. "Nia, do you want to borrow any makeup? I know Kara and Felicity don't wear it, but I noticed that you do sometimes."

"Ummm..." Nia peered into the mirror again, inspecting her face this time. "Do you have like a silvery one and maybe a little bit of highlighter? I wasn't going to do any because Brainy doesn't care -like so much so that he literally won't even notice- but I think it could look really cool."

"Yeah, I think so," Caitlin said, diving into her makeup bag. "Hang on one sec."

"If you don't I bet my mom does," Felicity said, standing up and pressing the home button her phone to check the time. "She has a lot of glitzy makeup because of where she waitresses. Also, just to let you guys know we have to head out in like fifteen minutes."

Caitlin nodded. "Okay. You're in luck, Nia." She passed the other girl a small pallet with some metallic colors in it, and a compact of highlighter. "I think our skin tones are pretty similar so it should be good on you."

"Thanks, Caitlin," Nia smiled. She used the pallet's applicator and quickly spread some silver eyeshadow along her eyelid, and then used a finger and dabbed some highlight on her cheeks. Then she reached into her purse, which was lying dangerously close to the curler on Felicity's desk, and put on some lip gloss from her bag. "Alright! I'm good to go."

"Gorgeous," Kara complimented. "I'm ready too, I just need to get my heels from downstairs."

"Well, we're headed that way," Felicity said. "I'm gonna run to the bathroom."

It wasn't long before all four girls had loaded into Caitlin's car. Felicity would have been able to drive, but Caitlin's car had less of a tendency of breaking down every few miles. Nia had turned seventeen in October, but she had yet to actually take drivers ED, and Kara had her license but couldn't drive people until March.

The four girls and their dates had bounced around some ideas of when and where to meet. For a little bit it had been on the table that the guys would come to pick the girls up, but they had decided that carpooling was easier and better for the environment. And, though the girls didn't mention this, if anyone had any "relationship issues" (anyone meaning Oliver and Felicity), the couple wouldn't have to go home in the same car, or even at the same time.

When they arrived at AV High, they found their school lit up with blue fairy lights all the way up to the entrance. "Aww, this is so cute," Nia said as she and Kara got out of the car. "I just wish there was snow."

"I know, right?" Felicity agreed, fixing one last strand of hair before getting out of Caitlin's car herself. The driver was reapplying lipstick one last time, and would be joining them shortly. "This dance should really be in December or January. It's nearly March; there's not going to be snow."

"Oh, there have been years where there's snow in March," Kara disagreed. "But I see your point. I get why they don't do it in December, because of the school play and the holidays and stuff, but it's a _Winter _Formal, and it's basically not even Winter anymore."

Nia laughed, and then her voice suddenly died. "I see Brainy." Her face went pale. "Ohmygosh. How do I look?"

"You look amazing..." Kara said slowly, looking at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"I'm really nervous, all of the sudden," Nia said faintly. "It's just Brainy. Why am I nervous? Oh gosh. Ohhhh gosh. Guys can we please just go home I really can't go through this again-"

"Hey, calm down!" Kara cried, grabbing her arms and looking at her in concern. "You said the only other dance you've gone to was a bad experience. What happened?"

Nia was trying to see over Kara's head to catch sight of Brainy again. "It was just- you know, run of the mill hate-crime kind of stuff," she replied. "Some guy got- got stupid and started saying stuff about how I would be crowned Prom King when I was a Junior. And I mean I know it's not prom but..."

Felicity's heart melted and she put her arm around Nia's shoulders. "Hey. Nothing like that is going to happen tonight, okay? Brainy would never say something like that to you, and when he's not with you, we will be. This is going to be really fun, alright? I mean, the music will most likely be awful and the I wouldn't drink anything because you never know. But it's all going to be okay."

Nia sniffed once, hard, and fanned at her face. "Okay," she breathed, taking a deep breath. "Thanks, girls."

Caitlin, who had come out of the car in time to hear Nia's story, gave her hand a squeeze. "We've got you, girl," she smiled. "Now, your date looks almost as nervous as you, so I'd go give him some peace of mind."

In a few seconds, Nia was transformed into the usual calm, confident young woman she was. "Alright," she said, straightening her dress and tucking her hair behind her ear. Then she waved, and called: "Brainy! Over here!"

Brainy glanced up and his face broke into a large smile. Kara gave Nia a little push, and the dark haired girl hurried over to her date. "Okie dokie," Kara said. "I'm gonna go find my boyfriend. I'm claiming a girls-group dance though at some point tonight."

"You know it," Felicity grinned. "Seeya inside, Kara."

"Shall we go in?" Caitlin suggested as Kara skipped off to find Mon-El. Felicity nodded her agreement and they wandered in to find their own dates. Felicity was trying to use her heels to a height advantage to see over the heads of the crowd when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey," Oliver greeted when she turned around, looking dapper as always in a suit with a dark blue tie. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks!" Felicity beamed. "You do, too."

She had inadvertently called him beautiful so many times in their relationship already that she no longer bothered to correct herself. Oliver grinned. "Thanks," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Oh, hey Caitlin."

"Hey, Oliver," Caitlin said with a faint smile. "You seen Julian or Cisco anywhere?"

"No, but I was just talking with Iris and Barry..." Oliver glanced over his shoulder. "They should be somewhere over there."

"Alright, thanks." Caitlin squeezed Felicity's arm. "See you later. Have funnnn..."

"I will," Felicity grinned, and Caitlin walked off though the ever-thickening crowd. She smiled happily when she spotted Iris and Barry, and hurried over. "Hey guys!"

"Caitlin!" Iris beamed. She was, of course, happy to see her friend, but she was even _more_ happy to see that they weren't wearing the same item of clothing. "I love that dress."

"Oh, thank you," Caitlin replied. "Yours is beautiful. Where did you get it?"

"Where I get everything," Iris answered in a half-joking 'obviously' tone. "The mall."

Barry laughed. "You get everything there," he repeated. "Is _that_ why you spend so much time there?"

Iris slapped him in the shoulder. "Quiet, you."

Caitlin didn't want to impose on their couple time any more than she had to. "Hey you two, have you seen Julian or Cisco anywhere? They were carpooling and I can't find my date."

"Actually..." a voice behind Caitlin made her turn. "Your date has arrived. Approximately ten minutes late because Cisco had to jumpstart his car."

"Julian!" Caitlin cried happily. "You look very handsome."

"And you look beautiful, as always," Julian replied, returning the compliment. Caitlin wouldn't have been surprised if he had picked up her hand and kissed it. Instead, he passed her a little bag. "I got you something. But I'm realizing now that it probably would have been more useful to give it to you _before_ Winter Formal."

Frowning curiously, Caitlin accepted the gift. "Thank you, but you really didn't need to get me anything."

"I wanted tonight to be special," Julian shrugged. "And buying you things is fun."

Caitlin reached into the bag. She pulled out a dark red liquid lipstick and smiled bemusedly. "A... lipstick? Julian, did you go to Sephora for me?"

He puffed out his chest proudly. "That I did. Though... I had to ask for help because I have no idea what people are putting on their faces anymore. Did you know that there's a product that lets you fill in your eyebrows?"

"Really?" Caitlin, who happened to use said product every day, asked with a barely restrained giggle. "Who knew?"

Iris, standing behind her, laughed. "Alright, let's see," she said to Caitlin, walking over to check out the lipstick. "That's a pretty good color match; I'm impressed."

"Did you make sure it has blue undertones?" Caitlin asked Julian, testing him a little. "For my skin tone, I need red lipstick with blue undertones to make my teeth look whiter. See, there's some science in makeup after all."

"Uhh..." Julian gulped. "Blue... but it's a red lipstick...?"

Iris and Caitlin laughed again. "I'm going to go put this on," Caitlin told her boyfriend, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you very much."

Both of the girls ran off because the bathroom-buddy system is strong even in fanfiction. Barry caught sight of Julian's face and started to laugh, too. "Hey man," he said, nodding a chin at him. "I think Caitlin was already wearing some makeup when she kissed you."

Julian pulled a face. "I have lipstick all over my cheek, don't I?"

"Mhm." Barry patted his shoulder. "That you do."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Alex and Maggie managed to walk in a little later than everyone else. They had probably taken too much time outside of Alex's house, while Eliza took picture after picture and crooned about how cute they were and how glad she was that they had figured everything out in time for the dance. Alex was halfway between happy and mortified, but Maggie seemed to think it was sweet so she figured she shouldn't worry about being embarrassed too much.

"I love how you got a black dress for a Winter Formal," Alex teased as she drove them towards AV High.

"Ha ha, very funny," Maggie replied dryly. "Not everyone looks good in blue, okay?"

"Black is just fine," Alex smiled, reaching over to pat her hand. She was pretty in love with her own dress, which was a couple shades lighter than navy and had some beaded strips and a cutout triangle in the front. "Though I do know that you look totally hot in dark red."

"I'll remember that for Prom," Maggie told her with a wink.

Alex smiled and bit her lip, pulling into AV High's parking lot. They walked towards the gym together holding hands, and found the dance already in full swing. Alex winced. "Whoops. I think my mom went a little overboard with the pictures."

Maggie laughed. "It's alright," she said, squeezed Alex's hand. "We're here now, that's all that matters."

They were almost immediately accosted by Sam, who had managed to not tell anyone that she was coming to Winter Formal. "Guys!" she cried. "I'm so glad you're here. I know, like, _no one_."

"Hey Sam," Alex said with a laugh. "You look great."

"Thank you, so do you," Sam replied. "Hi Maggie. Ugh, you guys are so cute."

"Imagine if we were actually doing something more than standing holding hands," Maggie said with a smirk. "Your heart might not be able to take it."

Sam laughed, not taking any offense to comment. Since she had arrived at school about a month ago, she had warmed up to the general AV High atmosphere and had become much more friendly and relaxed. She had hung out with Maggie, Alex and Laurel a few times, but she tended to spend most of her time with Lena Luthor. "But seriously though. Lena thinks dances are stupid -though I'm sure she'd go if James Olsen asked her-"

"Wait." Alex's jaw dropped. "Lena likes James? As in, James who asked my sister out like a week ago?"

"Yeahhh, Lena was telling me about that the other day." Sam sighed, looking downcast. "She didn't know until Brainy told her."

Now it was Maggie's turned to be surprised. "Brainy and Lena know each other?"

"Yeah! According to Lena, when Mon-El was sick Brainy went to the newsroom to meet Kara every day and they got kind of close." Sam shrugged. "So anyway, Brainy filled Lena in that James had asked Kara out, and then she told me, but oh gosh please don't tell your sister that she has -had?- a crush on James because she didn't really want anyone to know. I probably shouldn't have said anything it was more just as a joke. Though it really would have only made sense as a joke if Lena had been there..." she trailed off, turning pink.

"Your secret's safe with us," Maggie assured her, exchanging amused glances with Alex. "Or really... _Lena's_ secret is safe with us."

"Not with me though, it seems," Sam cringed. She perked up as the song changed and there were some cheers from the crowd. "Ooh, I love this song. Taylor Swift's new stuff is the _bomb_. I'm gonna go dance!"

Alex looked over at Maggie, asking permission with her eyes. Maggie grinned. "We'll come with."

And the three of them hurried off to join the crowd of students.

**Author's Note: Hey, so I just want to put a little disclaimer about my writing earlier in the chapter... personally, I am not a part of the LGTBQ+ community (though I know plenty who are), so I apologize if I misrepresented it in any way by writing what I did. I agree with everything my characters said up there, though, and I respect all of you that _are_ LGTBQ+ :) **


	41. Chapter 41

**Author's Note: Okayyyy I hope you guys didn't think that Winter Formal was done already! We still have at _least_ one chapter to go :D**

Sara was lounging on Laurel's bed, watching her do her makeup. "You're going to get your dress all wrinkled," Laurel scolded, glancing at her in the reflection of her mirror.

Sara was wearing a black mermaid-style dress with a medium-low neckline and a silver pendant. "Eh," she shrugged, shifting a little. "I'm pretty sure the tag said it was pack safe and no wrinkle."

Laurel raised an eyebrow. "I highly doubt that," she replied, glancing through the lipsticks on her vanity to find a burgundy one to match her fairly plain, keyhole neckline dress. "But hey, it's your clothes, you do you."

Sara grinned. "I will, thanks."

"So is Leonard coming?" Laurel asked, changing the subject and then shutting up so she could put on some lipstick. She had already finished her hair and her smokey eyeshadow and eyeliner, and was nearly ready to head downstairs.

Sara, who had been done getting ready nearly twenty minutes ago but had been too lazy to go downstairs and help her dad decorate, nodded. "Yeahhh, I made him squirm at first by saying no to going to Winter Formal, but then he looked all sad so I told him that it was because I didn't even _go_ to Winter Formal and then invited him to this."

"You're so mean," Laurel laughed. "But I guess he deserved it after what he pulled at Homecoming."

"Yeah," Sara said again, and then frowned. "You know... he never explained what happened that night. He seemed so upset about it that I didn't dare bring it up again."

"Might want to discuss that at some point," Laurel advised. "That was a pretty big deal and I think that you deserve an explanation. You guys have been dating for awhile and besides, he's had plenty of time to get over whatever troubling thing happened that night that made him so angsty about it."

"Yeah, I guess," Sara shrugged. "But not tonight. Tonight we'll just have fun and dance and eat lots of cookies. Or I'll eat lots of cookies. And if he doesn't that's his loss. Are you done already?"

"You didn't have to wait for me," Laurel huffed, putting the last bit of makeup back into her bag. "And yes, I'm done. Shall we head downstairs and help out our father?"

Sara jumped up. "Hopefully he's done setting up now and we don't have to help," she said deviously, racing out of the bedroom at top speed.

"I'm really glad you're not wearing heels right now," Laurel murmured, following her sister out of her room at a much slower pace. She walked downstairs to find that her dad hadn't, in fact, finished decorating.

"Hello, Laurel," Quintin greeted as his daughter wandered into the living room. "You look lovely. Could you help Sara hang some of those snowflake chains?"

"Mhm," Laurel agreed, walking over to help Sara, who was balancing precariously on her tiptoes on top of a chair to try and stick one end of the snowflake garland to the top of the wall. "Here, scoot."

"I hate being short," Sara grumbled as Laurel replaced her on the chair and taped the chain to the wall.

"You're fine," Laurel replied. "You could be a whole lot shorter."

Sara shrugged and stepped back as Laurel walked to the other end of the wall and taped up the other side of the snowflake chain. Then the doorbell rang and her face lit up. "Ooh! Guests."

When Quintin had first come up with the idea of doing a Winter Party each year, it had been when Laurel was seven and Sara was six. Quintin had invited all of their similarly young friends (which were mostly the same people), and had spent his time talking with their parents. But as Sara and Laurel got older and more social, their differing friend groups had expanded, and there had been much too many kids to invite and for Quintin to meet the parents of. So the Winter Party had turned more into Quintin inviting some of his adult friends, and Sara and Laurel bringing a few of theirs, as well as some neighbors that were allowed to drop by if they wanted to, to create a fairly small, homey party.

Sara was hoping that the first guest was Leonard, but it was one of her dad's friends from the precinct instead. "Heyo," she greeted, opening up the door. "My dad's in the living room. Come on in."

"Hello, Sara," the man said, stepping over the threshold. "I think you've grown since I last saw you."

Sara frowned. "Nah," she said, shutting the door behind him. "My doctor said I'm done growing. I'll be a shrimp forever."

The guest laughed, and was soon led into the main part of the house. It didn't take long for more people to arrive, and finally Sara opened up the door to reveal her date. "Heyyy Leonard," she grinned. "Thanks for coming."

"Hey, Sara," Leonard said. "You look nice." He peered over her head. "Is, uh, your dad here?"

"Oh." Sara felt her first flutter of butterflies as she remembered that this was the night that she introduced her father to Leonard Snart. "Uh... dad? There's someone here I want you to meet!"

Quintin came out of the living room, holding a napkin with one of Laurel's brownies on it. "I'm here, I'm here," he said, hurrying over to the door before catching sight of Leonard. "Ah. Hello, young man."

"Dad," Sara began. "This is my boyfriend, Leonard Snart."

Quintin's eyebrows rose. Sara thought that he was about to comment on the 'boyfriend' bit that she had casually snuck in, but instead he seized on another part of her sentence. " 'Snart', you say? You Lewis Snart's kid?"

"Uh..." Leonard swallowed uncomfortably. "Yeah, yeah Lewis is my dad."

Sara glanced back and forth between her father and her boyfriend in bewilderment. "Wait- wait, you know his dad? How do you know his dad? _I_ don't even know his dad!"

The moment after she said that, a certain expression passed over her father's face. He shook his head, very slightly, giving Leonard a look she couldn't read. Leonard swallowed again and he gave a quick nod.

Sara's mouth fell open. "What is- what're are you guys-? Jeezum, here I thought you'd be all up in arms that I've had a secret boyfriend since Thanksgiving and didn't tell you!"

Quintin's eyebrows raised again. "Honey, you think you kept Leonard a secret? I've known you were dating him since December."

Sara blinked. "Oh," she said, making a face. "Huh."

Leonard laughed. "So, uh... can I come in? I think I'm letting all the heat out of your house."

"Please," Quintin requested, shutting the door behind him.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"I'm bored," Laurel sighed as she wandered over to the couch. Leonard and Sara were sitting next to each other, and Sara had a piece of store-bought cake, a chocolate chip cookie, some snowflake crackers, cheese, and a brownie crammed onto her tiny paper plate. Leonard had a cup of punch, and that was about it (though he _had_ just stolen one of Sara's crackers).

"Well that's your own fault," Sara shot back, slapping Leonard's hand away as he tried to steal another cracker. "Stahhhp, get your own."

"Fine," he grumbled, getting to his feet and walking over to the buffet table.

Laurel ignored their interaction, set to keep on complaining. "Who could I have invited?" she asked. "Maggie and Alex ditched me to go have some slow dances in a crowded gym. And Oliver was obviously going to go the dance with Felicity."

"Girl, you gotta get more friends," Sara snorted.

"I do have friends! Just not ones that I would want to invite to our Winter Dance." Laurel let out a sigh and slumped onto the couch on the opposite side that Leonard had been sitting on. "It's times like these that I wish I had a boyfriend."

"You could have asked Tommy," Sara suggested with a shrug.

Laurel looked incredulous. "_Tommy_? Ewww, no. He'd probably think I was asking him out and we _really_ don't want that."

"Okay, well excuse me," Sara huffed. "I remember a time that you guys used to be besties." She gave her sister a slightly more sympathetic glance. "I'm sorry you're bored. You can hang out with me and Leonard for the rest of the night, if you want. I mean, it's not as if we're super couple-y or anything. You wouldn't be _that_ much of a third wheel."

"Yeah, I guess," Laurel sighed. "Thanks. I'm going to go get some snowflake chocolate and mope some more."

"Just don't get stuck under the mistletoe with any of dad's friends!" Sara called after her teasingly.

"Did I hear the word mistletoe?" Leonard asked, back from the buffet table with a plate almost as stuffed as Sara's. "You trying to seduce me, Lance?"

She snickered. "Wouldn't you love that."

He winked at her and sat back down. "Why'd Laurel leave? She could have hung out with us if she was so bored that even a full buffet and fairly decent music couldn't cheer her up."

"She's determined to be grumpy," Sara explained. "She's really quite bitter that Maggie and Alex turned down her invitation. Though honestly I'm _kind_ of glad they did? 'Cause this is not really the place to have a new, very couply-couple slow dancing and constantly flirting."

Leonard glanced around at the throng of people which generally consisted of men in their fifties and their wives. "Yeah," he agreed. "I can see where you're coming from."

The party had been going for about an hour now, and Laurel decided it was a good time as any to start dancing. She moved a few chairs out of the way to make some floor space and turned up the music. Unfortunately for her, all the adults there were really more interested in talking, and Sara and Leonard were quite comfortable on the couch, so Laurel was stuck dancing by herself and feeling like an idiot but not really caring.

Then she got a little devious, and turned on a slow song. Leonard looked down at Sara. "Hey... I got a little cheated out of my slow dance with you this time. Actually, last time, too, but that was my fault. Anyway... wanna dance?"

"Um..." Sara gave him a weird look and glanced around. The group hadn't changed since the last time she had looked. "Like... right here? You want to slow dance in my living room?"

Leonard shrugged, standing up and offering her his hand. "Why not?"

Feeling a little (lot) awkward, but not _really_ wanting to refuse, Sara took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. They stayed about a foot from the couch, her hands resting on his chest (she was too short to put her arms around his neck) and his at her waist. There they stood and swayed for the better part of two and a half minutes.

Just as Sara was about to get a little more comfortable and put her head on Leonard's chest, a camera went off. She leaped back, and Leonard dropped his hands. "Dad!" Sara squealed, turning red. "Why are you taking a picture?!"

Quite unashamedly, Quintin put his phone back into his pocket. "You'll thank me later," he said with a wink.

Sara made a face and sat firmly back down on the couch. "Sorry Leonard," she said. "No more slow dances until Prom."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Thea was having the best night of her entire life.

She and Roy had spent the first part of the dance chatting with friends and stealing food from each other's plates. Then Roy had suggested (suggested. Not allowed. _Sug-ges-ted_.) a dance. One dance had turned into two, which had turned into three, which head lead to a slow dance, and Thea suddenly remembered that she had missed out on all of this when she had gone, alone, to Homecoming.

Unfortunately for her, all evenings have to end eventually, even ones that Thea could have spent her entire life stuck in in a loop, reliving it over and over again. The DJ played his last song, and then the teachers began shooing everyone out of the gym to head home.

Thea yawned, pulling herself closer to Roy and putting her head on his shoulder. Walking that way was a little awkward, but she was willing to sacrifice.

Barry and Iris walked up beside them, holding hands. "Hey guys," Iris said, looking at Thea and Roy with a smile. "Did you enjoy the dance?"

"So much," Thea gushed.

Roy shrugged offhandedly. "Yeah, sure. Wasn't too bad."

Thea glanced up at him in surprise. "My my. I'd say you're actually starting to get into all of this high-school-couple stuff."

He grunted and Barry and Iris laughed. "How about you guys?" Thea asked. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah," Iris replied for the both of them as Barry nodded and kissed the top of her head. "I know I put you though a lot in the social department, babe, but I think you're actually starting to enjoy it."

"I don't deny it," Barry agreed, giving her hand a squeeze.

A year ago, Thea would have watched this interaction with a twinge of jealousy in her gut. She would have wished that _she_ had a guy who would ask her to a dance, and who would eagerly admit that he loved going to them. But now that she had met Roy, she realized that she didn't need any of that. Roy went to the dance with her. He had a good time, regardless if he pretended not to. And even if he _didn't_ have a good time, he would go with her again because he cared about her.

Thea smiled up at her boyfriend as Iris and Barry walked on, both of them tired and eager to get home. "Hey," she murmured.

"Hi," Roy replied, looking down at her with a faint, teasing smirk on his face.

"I'm really glad you're my boyfriend."

The smirk turned into a genuine smile and Roy stopped walking so he could kiss her. "Yeah," he whispered when he pulled back. "So am I."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

The party at Sara and Laurel's was winding down. Most of Quintin's friends, along with the Lances' neighbors, had left. Leonard was sticking around though, helping as they started to put the food leftovers into containers and pulled down the decorations.

Leonard let out a yawn and wandered over to Sara, hugging her from behind. "Hello," she giggled as she wound a snowflake chain around her hand to save it for next year. "You can head home, you know."

"It's getting late," Quintin agreed, eyeing them. "You probably _should_ be getting home."

Leonard sighed, knowing when to take a hint. "I'll walk you to the door," Sara said, taking his hand and leading him towards the front door. Quintin made a move to follow, but Laurel put a hand on his arm and gave him a look.

"Thank you for coming," Sara said as she shut the door behind them, facing Leonard on the porch. "And I'm glad you and my dad seemed to get along okay. Even if there was some... weirdness."

Leonard grinned and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Yeah," he agreed. "But I'd say it went pretty well, considering."

Sara felt her heart flutter in a weird way as he stepped closer. She opened her mouth a little to say something, feeling so incredibly nervous all of the sudden that she thought she might pop. Leonard bent down, moving his face at an angle.

"Are you going to kiss me?" Sara blurted suddenly, voice high pitched.

Leonard pulled back a little. "Uhhh, yeah, that was my intention," he said, giving her an amused, but slightly disappointed, look. "Should I... not?"

"No, no," Sara told him hurriedly, wishing she hadn't said anything. "No no no I _really_ wanna kiss you; trust me. Sorry. I, uh, just got a little nervous."

"Let's try this again, then," Leonard said with a laugh, leaning forward.

The front porch door opened up and the two of them lurched away from each other, both turning red. "Laurel!" Sara cried, eyes bugging out at the sight of her sister.

"Oh!" Laurel seemed surprised. "Sorry guys, I thought Leonard had gone home and I was just wondering if you wanted to split the last chocolate chip cookie with me."

Sara tilted her head back with a groan and Leonard let out a sigh. "See you on Monday, Sara," he said, pecking her cheek and stuffing his hand in his pockets before walking off to his car.

Sara felt _extremely_ unsatisfied, like she had been watching a movie and had to stop before the last five minutes. "Laurel..." she groaned, giving her sister an annoyed look. "I was just about to have my first kiss with Leonard Snart and you _ruined_ it."

Laurel's eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," she said, looking crushed. "...You can have the whole cookie, if you want? To make up for it?"

"It's fine," Sara mumbled, though it really wasn't, pushing past her and hurrying up to her room. She nearly felt like crying she was so disappointed. She had been waiting to kiss Leonard Snart for _wayyy_ too long, Like, two months too long. And she had been _so close_ and then...

Sara scowled and grabbed her phone from her nightstand, readying to text a long rant to Thea about older sisters and chocolate chip cookies. To her surprise, she found that she had no less than twenty unread texts from the brunet.

_Saraaaa_

_ OMG Sara_

_ I'm literally flying_

_ Like I have never been so happy omg omg omg_

_ Everything was PERFECT tonight Roy even asked me to dance omg omg omg :O :D :) :O :O_

_ I literally love him Sara_

_ Oh_

_ My_

_ Gosh_

_ I love Roy Harper_

_ OMG I NEED TO TELL HIM  
OMG OMG OMG OMG_

_ CALL ME_

_ SARA OMG CALL ME OMG OMG OMG_

_ Actually it's really late_

_ Call me tomorrow tho like as soon as you wake up_

_ I probably won't be able to sleep tonight lolololol I LOVE ROY HARPER YAYYYYY_

_ Okay goodnight_

_ Hope your time with Len was good ;)_

_ Love youuuuu_

The frustration faded as Sara could basically hear her best friend's freakout through her text. She decided not to reply tonight, knowing that if Thea was still up and saw the text she would be called immediately. Sara was tired. It had been a very nice evening with a kind of sour ending, and now she was just ready to sleep.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Much like Thea, Felicity was on top of the world when she rejoined Caitlin, Nia and Kara in the parking lot. Brainy was still glued to Nia's side and tried to convince her to let him take her home, but she held firm to her commitments to her newfound girlfriends and just gave him a long hug.

"That was _so_ fun," Felicity gushed as she slid into the passengers seat and buckled. "Oliver was such a gentlemen I'm going to _die_. Did you guys see how gorgeous he was in that suit? Like he is so cute it's, like, challenging for me to even live sometimes."

Kara laughed. "Yes, he looked very dapper," she agreed. "I had a great time, too. Though I gotta say... Mon-El's not much of a dancer."

"Oh yeah, I think I saw him," Nia said, mock-thoughtful. "He was the one that looked like a dying fish, right?"

"Mhm," Kara said, cringing. "That would be my boyfriend."

All of the girls laughed. "You know," Felicity said as they Caitlin started to carefully back out of her spot, wary of hitting any students. "I thought that Oliver would be, like, this amazing dancer. Slow dances, at least. But I'm pretty sure he _actually_ has two left feet."

Caitlin snorted with amusement. "No high school boys know how to dance unless they're actual dancers," she said, pulling into the long line of cars headed out of AV High. "Lets be real, here."

"I don't know, Julian didn't seem half bad," Kara countered.

Caitlin smiled with satisfaction. "Pros of a British boyfriend," she replied, shrugging casually. "His parents made him take ballroom dancing lessons when he was in middle school. Unfortunately for me, my mother did _not _do that, so I'm way worse than him."

"Better than a dying fish," Kara shrugged, giggling. "I'm kidding; I love watching Mon-El dance. He's such a dork. He was trying to teach me his signature dance move tonight, actually."

"Oh?" Nia asked, already starting to laugh in anticipation of what said 'signature dance move' could be.

"Yep." Kara rolled her eyes fondly. "It basically consists of pumping both of his fists in the air at the same time and whipping his hair around."

Nia laughed. "Yeah, I think I saw him use that once or twice."

"Or eighty times," Kara muttered, to more laughter. "Anyway... Nia, how was Brainy?"

"Aw, Brainy was great." Nia's cheeks turned pink. "He was _sooo_ excited. It was kind of adorable."

"You know, literally everyone in our grade is jealous that you scored the cute foreign exchange student," Felicity said, turning around in her seat. "Though... I don't think he's exactly the 'hot Spanish hunk' that everyone was expecting."

Nia's eyebrows went up. "Oh," she said, sitting back in her seat. "I'm... not exactly sure what to say to that."

Felicity frowned. "Sorry, did I say something wrong?" she asked, looking concerned.

"No, no, you're fine," Nia assured her quickly. "I just kind of always thought of Brainy as just, like... _Brainy_. I'm not dating him because he's the exchange student. Or Spanish or anything. And I don't- I don't see him as a hunk or- or- I like him because of his personality! I mean, he's cute but like..." She trailed off.

"I don't think Felicity meant that she thought you're dating him for anything other than that you have feelings for him," Kara put in quickly. "She was just saying that when an exchange student comes to school, the girls go all crazy because like ahh! Foreign boys!" She gave a weak laugh, trying to break up the tension. "No one thinks you're dating him because of the popularity."

"It's fine," Nia said again. "It's just kind of... weird to think about. Like girls that don't even know him looking at the two of us and being jealous of me_ just_ because he's the exchange student."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," Felicity shook her head. "I'm sure it's just a few stupid girls who are boy obsessed."

"It's fine," Nia repeated a third time. "I don't know why that bothered me it's just... yeah. It's just weird."

Felicity nodded. "I get it," she said, turning back around. "I mean, when I started dating Oliver everyone went kind of crazy, because he was popular and I was just this random nerdy girl. I can imagine for you it'd be kind of the same, because Brainy has some reputation just because he's the exchange student."

"Yeah..." Nia said slowly.

"Well, on that happy note," Caitlin put in, laughing a little. "Felicity, here is your stop."

"Oh!" Felicity turned around. "Bye girls. Thanks for a fun evening. Sorry if I made you feel weird, Nia. If you ever want to talk about that kind of thing though just let me know because, again, I kinda get what you're feeling."

"It's really alright," Nia assured her. "Thanks for inviting me over. Seeya, Felicity."

The other girls waved and said their goodbyes, and Caitlin pulled out of the driveway. "You okay?" Kara asked Nia as she stared out the window.

"Guys, I'm seriously fine!" Nia cried, laughing a little. "I think I was just taken a little off-guard and it was kind of, like, put in perspective for me how other people see our relationship and stuff. Don't you ever get thrown by that?"

"Your reaction was totally legitimate," Caitlin spoke up from the front seat. "I think Kara was just checking on you. Honestly? I think we're all just tired, and if we have a good nights sleep everyone is going to wake up and not even remember this conversation."

"Yeah," Nia agreed with a small laugh. "You're probably right."

It wasn't long before Caitlin had dropped Kara and Nia off at their respective houses. Then she drove home. After she had parked the car, she pulled out her phone and found a text from Julian.

_I had a great time tonight,_ It read, followed by: _I love you :) _

Caitlin smiled at the fact that they could say that now, and didn't waste any time in replying. _I had a great time, too. Love you Julian. See you Monday 3 _

Then she turned off her phone and headed inside to see if her mother had waited up.

**Author's Note: laewjalk jfaklej klaj e;k l WHAT is wrong with me I write these scenes sometimes and no one is legitimate and everyone is awkward and BLAH. l just felt like Nia wouldn't react well to Felicity's statement, and everyone acts weird when they're tired and...**

**Well on another note. I _was_ actually planning to have Sara and Leonard's first kiss be this chapter but LAUREL HAD TO COME IN AND RUIN IT! I was probably just as disappointed as Sara lololol XD**


	42. Chapter 42

The day after Winter Formal was always a bit of a letdown. Thea woke up at 10:30 the next morning (she had managed to fall asleep after much tossing and turning and in-bed fangirling), and immediately checked her phone to find six missed calls from Sara. Already wide awake, Thea called her back.

"Finally," Sara said when she picked up. "You told me to call you when I woke up. I take it you fell asleep?"

"Good morning to you, too," Thea replied with a muffled yawn, leaning back against her pillows. "Yeah, I fell asleep. I literally just woke up, sorry."

"It's fine," Sara replied. "I've been up since eight. I had leftover cake for breakfast; it was great."

Thea's stomach growled at the mention of food, but she ignored it. There were more pressing matters at hand. "Sara, I came to a _huge_ revelation last night," she said. "I realized that I'm totally completely head-over-heels in love with Roy Harper."

"I don't know why this is so surprising to you," Sara replied with a laugh. "I mean come on, Thea. You and Roy have been dating for, like, over four months. You see each other nearly every day. He literally _sacrificed his life for you_ one time. Why _wouldn't_ you be in love with him?"

"You have a point," Thea agreed, putting Sara on speaker phone so she could head over to her closet and pull out an outfit for the day. "I guess I've known for awhile, but I just suddenly realized it last night when I was texting you. Like, I was watching Barry and Iris and thinking about how me last year would have been totally jealous of their goals-ness, but then I thought about Roy and how, like, when we had our first kiss he was upset that it couldn't be at midnight. But I was totally fine with it because it was special and amazing no matter when it was. And then I just realized that deep down, he's all I've ever wanted in a guy, as crazy as that sound."

"Honestly?" Sara said. "I think you've grown up a lot this year. I actually think you both have. You've calmed down about all the cliché relationship things, like the guy asking the girl out or kissing on the stroke of midnight or big showy declarations of affection or stuff like that. And Roy has become way less introverted and sullen since he started dating you."

Thea could help a big smile. "Yeah," she said, choosing a long-sleeve crop top and a pair of high-waisted jeans and throwing them on her bed. "Hey, the best relationships help you to grow and change for the better, right?"

"Definitely," Sara agreed.

"So how was it with you and Leonard last night?" Thea asked. "Did introducing him to your dad go okay?"

"Okay, it was actually _really _weird," Sara replied. "For one, my dad totally knew that Leonard was my boyfriend though I have no idea how he found out. And so he didn't even comment on that, but was all like, 'Snart, huh? Lewis Snart's your dad?' and Leonard was like, 'yeah', and then they had like this really weird eye contact exchange that they both seemed to understand and I was like, 'ummmm, explain?' but no one did."

"That _is_ weird," Thea agreed, frowning. "But other than that, it went okay?"

"Yeah, I guess." Sara let out a sigh. "The party part was really fun. But then when I walked him out he came _so close_ to kissing me, and then Laurel had to come out on the porch! I was so annoyed. And now I bet he's not going to try to kiss me for ages and ages because knowing him he'd never admit it but he wants the moment to be perfect and everything, and I mean I do too but I also just _really_ want to kiss him."

Thea winced. "That sucks so much," she sympathized, putting on her shirt. "Could you, like, plan a date for this weekend or something and do it then?"

"That was my first idea," Sara said. "But I asked my dad if I could, and he said that he wants me to focus on studying for midterms for the next few weekends, which I kind of get. I mean, Junior year is what partially what colleges look at, and I want my grades to be good. And I bet Leonard will be pretty busy studying, too." She let out a deep sigh. "Guess I'll probably be waiting until prom. _Ughhhh..._"

"Aw, don't lose hope," Thea said, taking her phone over to her vanity so that she could grab a brush and work on her hair. "Having the right moment is great, but there's always something nice to spontaneity, too."

"That may be true. But I don't think I really want Leonard to just come up to one day in the hallway and start kissing me. It'd just be weird. But I guess I'd take that over waiting until prom."

Thea shook her head. "Don't be silly, you won't have to wait until prom," she told her friend. "I am _sure_ that you two can work it out. Don't lose faith, okay? Now, I need to go to breakfast. If I think about how you can find a good moment for Leonard to kiss you, will you help me brainstorm the perfect way to tell Roy I love him?"

"Yeah, sure," Sara agreed with a laugh. "I've got something already. _Tell him._"

"Very funny," Thea huffed. "But seriously- I gotta go. Bye Sara."

"Talk to you later, Thea."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Between studying and classes, Iris, Thea, Sara, Alex and Laurel had to work on basketball. They, much to everyone's surprise, had won enough games to be taking part in the playoffs. The core five of the team liked to believe it was because of them, but they wouldn't ever say that because it would probably offend quite a lot of people and would also be pretty rude.

An hour before the game, Alex's stomach was a mess of nerves. "I can sit through an AP Physics exam without flinching," she said to Laurel as they changed into their uniforms for a pre-game practice. "But I can't prep for a basketball game without feeling like I'm going to puke."

"I feel you," Laurel winced. "Except I couldn't sit through an AP Physics exam because, guess what? I'm not _in_ AP Psychics."

"That's because you are a very lucky person who the universe doesn't hate," Alex replied dryly. "No, I'm kidding, I love psychics. But still."

Sara poked her head into the locker room. She was already dressed in her uniform and had her hair in a high ponytail. "You guys ready?"

"Just about," Laurel replied, tying her own hair up. "Alright, let's go."

The pre-game warmup went fairly well, but no one was confident by the time the other team began filtering into the gym for their own warm up time. "Ugh, look at them," Thea murmured to Iris as they watched the other team nail hoop after hoop. "They are _so_ much better than us."

"Don't be ridiculous," Iris told her sternly. "We are just as good when we're warming up. At the very least Thea, we made it to the championships. That's more than we did last year. Or the year before."

"I know..." Thea groaned, pouting a little. "I'm sorry, I just can't help but compare myself to them!"

Sara, overhearing, patted her shoulder. "It'll be okay," she consoled her friend. "As Iris said, even if we don't win we still did pretty darn good."

By now, people were starting to filter into the bleachers. Sara caught sight of her father and waved, then noticed that he was sitting next to Leonard. She gave him a surprised look and he grinned and shrugged a little.

"Who are you making faces at?" Thea asked, glancing up at the bleachers. "Holy smokes is Leonard Snart sitting with your father?!"

"Yes, yes he is," Sara said, and winced a little. "I really hope no one dies in the process. Is Roy coming today?"

Thea smiled widely. "Yeah..." she said, blushing a little. "I didn't even ask him; he just found out all by himself. I love him so much."

"Oh you do, do you?" Iris asked, raising her eyebrows.

Sara snorted. "I take it you haven't heard Thea's recent revelation?" she queried, grinning at Iris. "Thea decided after Winter Formal that she was head over heels with Roy and enlisted my help to come up with a way to tell him."

"Uh..." Iris frowned, giving Thea a vaguely confused look. "You could just... tell him?"

"That's what I said!" Sara cried as Thea groaned loudly.

"Alright girls, bring it in!" their basketball coach said, urging them into a huddle as warmup ended. "I know this is a big game, and it's a little stressful. But just try and keep your heads, and force yourself to think of this as any other old game. Now that's not me saying that I don't want you to push yourself- I do. But try not to let the stress get to your playing. Do your best, and have some fun, alright?"

The girls cheered, and went through their (very cheesy, in Thea's opinion) chant: 'We are heroes through and through, we will always fight for you! Goooooo AV High!'

After the players were named and the National Anthem was sung, the game began. By halftime, AV High was down by 4, and the 16 points they had scored were split almost perfectly between Iris, Thea, Sara, Alex and Laurel, with a hoop from a girl named Mona to finish up the score.

"Okay ladies," their coach rallied as they wandered off to the locker room to get water. Sara couldn't remember the last time they had headed to the locker room at halftime with the leading score, and it was starting to get a little annoying. "We're only down four. We could _very_ easily turn this around, and with the way you all are playing I think it's likely that it'll happen. Just remember to share the ball. Your team is what is going to help you win in this game."

Thea and Sara exchanged slightly guilty glances, knowing the comment was directed at them and their friends. Then the second half started, and they were back in the court.

AV High had managed to gain by a two point difference. Right before the game was about to end, one of the girls on the opposing team knocked Sara roughly to the ground. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the foul.

It was called, just as the end of the game signaled. But AV High now had three free throws. If Sara could nail all three, they would win.

"Hey," Iris said as Sara tried to get her hands to stop shaking, lining up on the court. "It doesn't matter what happens. Whether we win or lose, it's not your fault."

"Thanks," Sara breathed, swallowing and dribbling the ball twice. She lined up the shot, and threw it.

_Swish_.

Nervous applause broke over AV High's side of the audience. Sara let out a breath, feeling relief tingle all the way down to her toes. But it wasn't over yet.

She took a deep breath, reclaiming the basketball, and threw it again.

It went in. More applause, another surge of relief, excited looks from her team. Sara gritted her teeth. If she failed now, everyone would be let down, no matter what they would say to make her feel better. She had to get this shot, for her team... and for herself.

Right before she started preparing for her last free-throw, Sara glanced up at the bleachers where her dad and Leonard were seated. Her dad beamed at her and gave her a thumbs up. Leonard nodded and mouth, 'You got this.'

One more deep breath, and then Sara made the shot.

The ball flew in a perfect arc. Sara watched it like it was in slow motion, everyone tense with anticipation.

_Swish_. Nothing but net.

AV High's team, and their supporters, exploded in cheers. Sara was suddenly attacked by the girls on her team as they all started screaming and jumping up and down. Sara may not have won the game by herself, but being able to end it that way felt pretty dang good.

After a few minutes of freakout, the two teams went through the customary handshakes. Then they were allowed to break away and celebrate with their fans. Leonard had already come down the bleachers, and Sara saw for the first time that he was holding flowers. He grinned wildly at her and she attacked him with a hug.

"You were incredible!" Leonard cried. "That ending play? I actually thought I might throw up I was so nervous for you."

"_You_ were nervous?!" Sara asked incredulously, laughing. "How do you think I felt?"

Leonard laughed, face glowing. Then suddenly his hands were ringing her face and he had leaned down and kissed her.

Everything turned to white noise. Sara gripped the front of his shirt, feeling her already tired legs turn to jello. Then Leonard pulled back, and Sara was unable to stop smiling. "Hello," she whispered.

He stroked her hair out of her face with his fingertips, looking down at her with such unrestrained affection that Sara felt tingles zing through her. She had never felt this way. Ever.

"Well _that_ was quite the show," Thea spoke up, causing Sara and Leonard to jump and turn to face her. Sara had legitimately forgotten where she was and the fact that about half the school was watching, but she really didn't care.

"Thanks for ruining the moment, Thea," Sara complained, but still unable to stop smiling.

"Anytime," Thea replied with a answering grin. "Next time can you tell me when you're going to do something like that, though? I had my phone with my water bottle; I totally could have videotaped. Oh! Roy!"

Roy had come up behind her and hugged her awkwardly from the side. "Congrats," he said, looking a little uncomfortable in the cheerful social scene he wasn't used to being surrounded by. "You played great. Both of you did."

"Thank you for coming, babe" Thea said, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Sorry, I'm totally sweaty. You probably don't want to touch me."

Roy shrugged, not removing his arm from around her waist.

Quintin had finally made it down the bleachers, and Sara broke away from Leonard to give him a hug. Laurel hurried over to do the same and soon the three Lances were talking happily about the game and how proud they were of Sara and how Quintin had gotten the whole thing on camera and-

"Hey, I'm gonna head," Leonard said, putting his hand on Sara's shoulder and sliding into her conversation as tactfully as he could.

"Oh!" Sara suddenly remembered he was there, and then couldn't figure out how she'd possibly forgotten. "Thank you for coming. And for the... yeah."

Leonard's cheeks darkened. "Uh, my pleasure," he replied, _very_ aware of Quintin and Laurel's eyes on the two of them. "For... both of those."

"Good grief." Laurel rolled her eyes. "You two kissed. It's not like it's a secret you literally did it in the middle of the gym like two minutes ago."

"Uh, yeah," Leonard mumbled, wincing a little. "Uh... seeya, Sara. Congrats, again."

"Thanks," Sara breathed, watching him go until he vanished out of the gym.

Quintin crossed his arms. "Leonard Snart," he said slowly. "You know... he seems like a halfway decent kid."

"He's a great kid!" Sara cried, defending her boyfriend. "Also, it's really weird that you two sat together, just sayin."

"All we did was talk about you, don't worry," Quintin teased, ruffling her hair. "Come on girls. Let's go home."

**Author's Note: GAH! I hope that was legitimate. Something like that (and I think I got it correct, sorry if that couldn't actually happen in basketball) happened at my cousins basketball game, but they didn't win. **

**BUT ANYWAY THEY KISSED? WHAT?! I literally didn't plan that _at all_ and I'm really glad there was the basketball game because I wouldn't have known what to do otherwise XD**


	43. Chapter 43

**Author's Note: So you may be like, "WTY! Why are you blowing over midterms? Isn't that something fun to write about?" And I'd be all like "Yeah, let's do it!" Except, as I said in the Author's Note of chapter 1, I have NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING BECAUSE I'VE NEVER BEEN TO PUBLIC/PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL OR MIDDLE SCHOOL SO UMMMM... **

**I literally don't know how to write midterms. **

**Like at all. **

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter :)**

After Winter Formal, everything calmed down... sort of. Midterms were taken with much stress and studying, Barry had his birthday, and the first two-thirds of the month of March passed with surprising speed.

Unfortunately, Thea was starting to think that nothing interesting would ever happen again. No one had gotten together or broken up. She hadn't gotten up the nerve to tell Roy she loved him yet. In fact, nothing noteworthy had happened since Sara and Leonard kissed at the end of the basketball game almost a month ago.

That was until Sara sat down at the lunch table with some very interesting tea.

"So, you know how Mon-El and Kara played matchmaker for Brainy? Well, that looked like fun to me. And there's this girl in my history class that I had to a project with recently because Iris ditched me for Barry-"

"I'm sorry!" Iris protested. "It just made more sense. We live together!"

"Whatever," Sara huffed, clearly not over it. "Anyway, her name is Zari and I absolutely love her because she is a riot and a ton of fun."

"So see!" Iris cried, interrupting her again. "You should be thanking me."

Sara ignored her. "Anyway, she was telling me one night about this guy that's in her science class that she thinks she might like, and _guess what_? It's Nate!"

"Nate, like Nate Haywood?" Thea asked, jaw dropping. "Like... the Nate Haywood that dated Amaya Jiwe on your soccer team? Like the one you used to be besties with?"

"Okay, we were never besties," Sara said, rolling her eyes. "We hung out a couple times back when we were in middle school, but I've barely spent any time with him since high school. But regardless, I think he's a great guy, and that he and Zari would be _impossibly_ cute together. So I'm going to set them up, and if you three don't want to help I'll ask Leonard."

"Okay, calm down," Iris said, holding up her hands. "We never said we wouldn't help you. But how exactly to you expect us to aid you in setting up two people we don't know?"

Sara pulled a face. "Well, I hadn't gotten to that yet," she shrugged. "But I think our goal should be Prom, which means we have _plenty_ of time."

"Let's see..." Thea considered. "Today is March 19th, and Prom is May 13th. That means we have almost a full two months to set them up. What's the game plan? Are we going to get Zari to confess how she feels, or are we getting Nate to ask her out?"

"Hmm..." Sara put her chin on her palm, food forgotten in the wake of more important matters, mainly shipping. "Zari is crazy stubborn. Something tells me that Nate will be more malleable to suggestion. But at the same time, it would be really weird for me to suddenly go up to Nate, who I haven't talked to in, like, two years besides the occasional 'hey' or a comment on a post, and be like, 'sup dude, I think you should ask out Zari who it's possible that you don't even know'."

"Well yes," Iris agreed, snorting. "If you said it that way, you're right, that would be very weird."

"You know what I mean," Sara groaned. "So I guess that Zari is our best bet."

Thea had a thoughtful look on her face. "Or..." she suggested slowly. "We tell a little white lie."

Iris and Sara exchanged glances. "It scares me a little when she gets that look on her face," Sara whispered.

"It's a scary look," Iris agreed, wincing.

Thea gave them both disapproving glances. "Okay, both of you chill. It's not _that_ crazy of an idea. Iris or I could just accidentally crash into him sometime and then pretend to get a good look at him and be like, 'omg, you're Nate right?' And then he'd be like, 'Uh, yeah, how'd you know?' And then we'd be like, 'Oh! Uh... Zari was talking about you one time and she showed us a picture. Haha that sounds so creepy but it really isn't.' And then he'd be like, 'Zari was talking about me?' And we'd be like, 'Oh she talks about you _all_ the time- I think she's totally into you. Anyway, gotta go!' "

Sara made a face. "Uh, part of me loves this plan and part of me's like... there are literally eighty things that could go wrong."

"Also," Iris put in. "What if Nate doesn't like Zari? We haven't even considered that possibility."

Sara slumped. "Yeah, I guess I didn't," she sighed. "It would suck to work so hard just to get her rejected. Okay, new plan. We find out about Nate's feelings before we do anything else. He's bros with Ray Palmer, and I actually know Ray a little bit. He's a super peppy dude, and I think that he would _love_ to help in anyway he can."

"Nice," Thea said, nodding. "Also, his girlfriend Nora seems super cool and I kind of totally want to meet her."

"In my opinion, she seems _way_ too edgy for him," Sara replied, making a face. "But sure Thea, whatever you want. Okay, new game plan: I'm going to talk to Ray when I see him, and then he can get some (hopefully covert) info, and then we can arrange a meeting time with him and Nora and the three of us, so Nora and Thea can meet and Ray can fill us in on what he's learned. Then, depending on how Nate feels, we will proceed from there."

Iris nodded. "Sounds like a plan," she agreed. "Keep us posted, okay?"

"You got it," Sara agreed, grinning. She was ready to get started.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Lena was absolutely delighted to see Brainy walk into the newspaper room on Tuesday. "Brainy!" she cried, face lighting up. She hadn't realized how much she had missed seeing him until that moment. Since Mon-El had recovered from his double ear infection, Lena had only seen Brainy once, when she and Sam had unexpectedly run into him and Mon-El when they had gone out for coffee at Jitters. Their school paths never crossed, and Brainy had had no reason to come back to the newspaper room until, it seemed, this moment.

"Hello, Lena Luthor," Brainy beamed, looking just as pleased to see her as she was to see him. "It has been way too long. I know that I said I would come visit you after Mon-El recovered from his disease, and I apologize that I did not."

"It's alright," Lena said, coming around the side of her desk. "I haven't been in here much, honestly. Midterm studying has kept me pretty busy."

"Me as well," Brainy agreed, dipping his chin and folding his hands behind his back. "Now I must ask... how is it all going with you and Mr. James Olsen?"

Lena smiled faintly at Brainy's tendency to use people's full names whenever talking about them or addressing them. "How's it going? There's not really anything to be going, I guess."

He frowned for a moment, trying to puzzle out what she meant.

"Like..." Lena tried again. "There's nothing going on between us, so there's nothing to update you on. How's Nia?"

A few weeks ago that may have worked to completely distract Brainy from asking her about James, but now it didn't succeed in quite the way she had hoped. "Nia Nal... Nia Nal is _incredible_. Well, she's actually rather stressed about her testing, but to me she is amazing and wonderful and- well, anyway. I do believe that there _could_ be something between you and James, if you would still like there to be."

"I-" Lena bit her lip and glanced out the window. "I mean, I still like him, if that's what you're asking. He's very... charming, and kind, and professional when he works on the newspaper with me." Suddenly words were pouring out of her mouth. "There was one evening when I had to stay late because I had lost track of time and hadn't finished editing the newest edition of the newspaper and it needed to go out the next morning, and I had to call him to send me the pictures he had taken, and it turned out that he was actually still at school so instead of just emailing them to me, he came up and spent the next hour helping me going over all the edits because he said that he didn't want me going home super late because midterms started the next day."

Lena took a breath, blushing. "Sorry, you probably didn't need to know all of that. There's just something about spending time with him that... I don't know. It's nice."

Brainy smiled kindly at her. "I understand completely," he said. "Mon-El shared this thing with me that he and Kara like that read: 'A day with the right person can feel like an hour'. I feel that way with Nia, and I believe that you might feel that way with James."

"Yeah," Lena agreed. "But still, it's not as if it matters. I really don't think that he likes me like that, Brainy. And there is no way that I'm putting myself out there if he doesn't, because he is currently the school newspaper's only photographer. There was already romantic drama in the news room this year; I don't know if it could take much more."

"It has been a month," Brainy said. "James will have moved on by now, right?"

Lena shrugged. "Well. I haven't, have I?"

"Hm." Brainy looked thoughtful. "No, I suppose you have not."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

After the brief fight that had taken place when James got rejected by Kara, James and Winn had started spending a considerable amount of time together. James was new to AV High, and as much as he liked to pretend he had been there since Freshmen year like most of the other students, in truth he was really just a kid who had been forced to transfer halfway through his Senior year. He was desperate for some kind of solid friend to replace the ones he had left, and Winn was just as desperate for some male companionship. Their friendship worked.

They were watching a track meet that James was taking pictures for one afternoon when Winn thought he'd broach the subject of Kara. "So, have things smoothed over between the two of you?" he asked.

James shrugged. "Yeah," he replied. "For the most part. I feel like she's always a little more awkward around me then around most people, especially when we have to be alone, but it hasn't been so bad. Come on, I want to go get a photo finish of these sprinters."

Winn followed him dutifully across the bleachers and closer to the track. "And you've moved on from her?" he continued. "If you haven't, no judgement, it took me like a year. She's just one of those people you honestly wonder if you'll every get over."

"Yeah," James repeated, getting down on one knee and prepping his camera. "Honestly, I think most of my attachment revolved around the fact that I got here and was lonely and she was a pretty face that seemed nice enough and could be interested in me. Wasn't too hard to get over that, which means our relationship wouldn't have lasted anyway."

Winn hadn't had a crush on someone in so long that he kind of forgot what it was like to move on from one quickly. He let out a sigh and then shoved himself out of his self-pity. "Well, that's good. I'm glad for you, dude."

"Besides," James added. "I've gotten to know someone else pretty well over the past few weeks and there's the possibility that there's something real there. But I guess we'll see. I'm not going to jump into anything right now."

Winn shrugged. "Well, if you think it's the right choice, I wouldn't wait too long, dude. The end of the year's gonna come up before you know it, and if there's stuff you haven't gotten to you're just going to regret it."

"Yeah, I know, I know," James sighed. The sprint started and he was silent for a moment, focusing on his camera. Once he was satisfied he and Winn headed back to the bleachers. "How about you man? Any girl you're interested in?"

"Uh..." Winn picked at his thumbnail. "Nah, not really. I haven't really liked anyone since Kara, honestly. I'm ready to, but... well, I basically know my entire Junior class. I can't imagine someone would suddenly just catch my interest enough that I would want to date them."

"I see your point," James agreed with a laugh. "Well, maybe you should be stupid and transfer halfway through the year like me. Then there will be too many new faces."

"Yeah, I'll pass," Winn replied, grinning. He considered James' comment for a second before tilting his head in question. "Hey man, I never did ask: Why _did_ you move here?"

James leaned back on his heel and scratched his chin. "Well, my dad's in the military," he explained. "So we moved bases. I think it's a little stupid that we moved, though, because he's going to be shipped off in a few weeks."

"Aw man, I'm sorry," Winn said, his face falling. "That really sucks. But hey-" He reached over and slugged James on the shoulder. "I'm glad you moved, because otherwise I would be sitting here alone."

James snorted. "Dude, you wouldn't even be here if I wasn't taking pictures, would you?"

"No I would not," Winn admitted. "But I'm okay with that."

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Cisco, I don't even like coffee."

Caitlin glanced up from her table at a coffee shop downtown to see her best friend pushing a petite, dark-haired young woman in front of him into the room. She beamed at the two of them and started waving, vigorously enough to catch Cisco's eye.

"Hi," Caitlin greeted as soon as they were close enough. "You must be Gypsy? I'm Caitlin, Cisco's-"

"Best friend, yeah, I know," Gypsy interrupted with a sigh and a reluctant smile. She shook Caitlin's hand. "Nice to finally meet you. I swear he talks about you so much that I kinda thought he was into you before he asked me out."

Caitlin's face twisted. "Oh, ew, no no no. Um, I have a boyfriend and even if I didn't Cisco and I... he's like my brother. That's just weird."

"Yeah, figured that out eventually, too," Gypsy replied with a snort. She sat down across from Caitlin and glanced up at Cisco. "Babe? Get me a drink that's _not_ coffee?"

"On it," Cisco agreed, kissing her cheek. Then he looked down at Caitlin with a hopeful expression on his face. "Uhh, you two get to know each other! I'll be right back."

Caitlin waved at him with a smile, and then immediately turned back to Gypsy. "Sooo he seems smitten with you."

"Oh pah." Gypsy waved her hand through the air and then ran it through her long, inky-black waves. "I mean, he's my boyfriend. I'd hope he'd at least act a _little_ smitten."

"Word of warning, and kind-of advice," Caitlin said, leaning forward a little and dropping the volume of her voice just in case Cisco would overhear. "Cisco has a pretty fragile heart. You might not think he does, but he does. He really wants a girlfriend, but he also wants someone who will just love him for him. He hurts easily, even when he doesn't show it. So just... be gentle with him, okay?"

"Okay..." Gypsy replied awkwardly, leaning back. She forced a quick laugh. "So, you're going to be the friend who's going to absolutely despise me if I end up breaking up with him, huh?"

Caitlin's mouth pinched. "Generally, no. I don't despise anyone," she replied stiffly. "I think that there are tactful, kind ways to break up with someone, and I would hope that you would use one of those if you ever found the need to break up with Cisco."

"Who's breaking up with Cisco?" Cisco himself asked, appearing suddenly at their table with two large mugs of coffee and looking slightly terrified.

"No one, honey," Gypsy replied immediately, reaching up to rub his arm.

He looked dubious, but shook it off to put down one of the mugs in front of Gypsy. "Cinnamon hot cocoa for you, and a mocha latte for me. And let me guess, Caitlin, you got a black coffee."

Caitlin grinned at him over to lip of her mug, taking a small sip of what most high schoolers would find to be an absolutely disgusting drink. "You know me so well."

They fell into light conversation about where Gypsy went to school, what classes all of them were taking, and the ever-looming threat of colleges. Gypsy was interested in pursuing a criminal justice major, but she and Cisco both enjoyed science and robotics which gave them at least one class-interest in common.

From Caitlin's perspective, they seemed pretty well matched. They weren't exactly similar; Gypsy was intense where Cisco was laid-back, and Gypsy's humor was more dry and morbid than Cisco's constant comical references. But they talked and flirted with incredible ease and Caitlin found herself mentally crossing her fingers that this girl could last. Cisco deserved a girlfriend that wouldn't dump him after a month.

Maybe Gypsy could be the girlfriend.

**Author's Note: As I'm writing this, I'm honestly torn about the whole Gypsy plot. Cannonically, Gypsy and Cisco break up. Butttttt so do Caitlin and Julian and logistically in this fanfiction that wouldn't make sense so we're kind of ignoring cannon.**

**I dunno. We're gonna have to see where everyone ends up. **


	44. Chapter 44

**Author's Note: GUYS I GET TO WRITE DARHKATOM IN THIS CHAPTER THAT MAKES ME SO SOOOO HAPPY :D :D :D**

Ray Palmer was standing in the hallway, looking slightly terrified.

Anyone watching honestly wouldn't blame him, because Thea, Iris and Sara all walking towards one person with matching "friendly" grins on their faces was a pretty scary sight.

"Hey, Ray," Sara greeted casually, putting her forearm up on the locker right next to the one Ray was standing in front of and leaning her weight on it. "How's it going, ma boi ma buddy ma dude?"

"It's, um... fine?" Ray managed, looking around for a means of escape in case he'd need one. "What can I do for you lovely ladies?"

Thea mouthed an 'Aw', at Iris before she started speaking. "We need your help. Also, is your girlfriend around?"

Ray frowned. "Ummm... she's probably at her locker? I mean, getting ready for next class. Why do you ask?"

Thea shrugged and opened her mouth and Iris elbowed her. "Ignore her, it doesn't matter where Nora is. We have a question to ask you, and it'd be best if you could answer as honestly as possible."

"Guys, chill, you're scaring him," Sara broke in with a groan. "Ray, to be candid, we're trying to set up Zari and Nate right now and we needed to know: Has Nate mentioned having any feelings for Zari lately?"

The fear in Ray's eyes transformed to thoughtfulness. He had just opened his mouth to respond when an annoyed throat-clearing came from behind them. The three girls turned to find Nora Darhk standing behind them, her eyebrows raised.

"Nora!" Ray cried happily. They had been dating for almost two months now, but Thea noticed that Ray's face still completely lit up every time he saw his girlfriend. "How's your morning been?"

"Fine..." Nora replied slowly, looking around at the other three girls with a certain amount of suspicion. "Could I ask what's going on here?"

"Oh!" Ray was still beaming. "Sara, and... sorry, what are your names?"

"Iris and Thea," Thea explained. "And we were just asking Ray about Nate's feelings for Zari."

"Gotcha," Nora said, still looking dubious. She patted Ray on the bicep. "You looked terrified, babe, so I figured I should step in."

Ray beamed at her. "Thanks," he said happily. "But I'm all good. You can stick around though! I can walk you to your next class after I'm done talking with Iris and Thea and Sara."

"It's cool," Nora said, waving him off. "I think I can chaperone myself in the halls. See you guys later. Peace."

She flashed them a peace sign and strode off down the hall, Ray watching her with a very dopey smile.

"Y'all are adorable," Thea said, putting her hand over her heart. "I cannot even."

"Well, I can," Sara countered. "And Ray, the bell's about to ring. Zari. Nate. Tea. _Nowwww_."

"Sorry!" Ray peeped. "I mean, they're buds. They hang out with me and Nora all the time, but not like a double date or anything." He looked thoughtful again. "I mean, I don't know. I think I've seen him staring off after her with moony eyes at least once before."

"Hmmm, kind of like the face he was just making?" Iris murmured in Thea's ear, snickering a little. Thea grinned.

"Awesome. Fabulous." Sara clapped her hands together just as the warning bell rang. "Okay, we have to skedaddle, _but_ I will keep you updated on our matchmaking adventures."

"Okay!" Ray agreed brightly. "Let me know if there's anything more I can do to help! I love Nate; I just want to see him be happy."

Ray turned and trundled off towards his next class, a distinct skip in his step. Iris watched him go with a slow shake of her head. "That, right there, is a _very_ perky guy."

"Yeah," Sara agreed with a smirk. "The world doesn't deserve him, honestly."

"Okay," Thea said, changing the subject and rubbing her hands together vigorously. "Part one in our plan is completed. Now, all we need to do is locate Nate, "accidentally" crash into him, and causally bring up Zari and how much she talks about him."

"Which isn't technically true," Sara added.

"It'll be _fine_," Thea insisted. "A little white lie never hurt anyone in the world of love!"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Thank you all for joining me," Laurel said as she stood at the front of the small mob she had assembled in the hallway. She checked her watch. "We have approximately 10 minutes to plan, because Thea will probably take about that amount of time in the bathroom. Oliver, stand watch."

Oliver frowned petulantly. "What if I don't _want_ to stand watch?"

"_Stand. Watch_."

"Fine," he grumbled, turning around and starting to scan the hallway for any sign of his younger sister.

Laurel and Oliver weren't the only two there. Diggle, Sara, Iris, Alex, Maggie, Kara, Felicity, Caitlin, Barry, Leonard and Roy were also crowded in front of Laurel's locker, awaiting the announcement she had texted them about.

"As you all know, Thea's birthday is coming up," Laurel announced.

"Why isn't Oliver doing this speech?" Alex interrupted, frowning at the blond Senior. "It's _his sister_."

"He's a boy," Laurel replied, waving the idea off. "Boys never plan things."

"Amen to that," Caitlin agreed, nodding vehemently. Kara snorted with laughter.

"We're derailing," Laurel sighed. "In short, Thea's birthday is coming up and I want to throw her a giant surprise party to show her how loved she is because she likes extravagant things like that. My father has agreed that we can host at our house, which will make set up considerably easier."

Sara nodded. "This is great. Why didn't you just text us this instead of risking the secrecy of our mission by talking about it _in the middle of the hallway_?"

Laurel looked a little embarrassed. "I don't have, like, half of your phone numbers," she admitted. "And this was more fun and exciting. And made for a better scene than a giant group chat."

"Makes sense," Maggie agreed with a shrug of her shoulders. She linked her arm through Alex's. "I'm in."

"Me too," Alex agreed.

"We'll be there," Diggle said, speaking up for Oliver, which made sense. If Oliver didn't show up to his _own sister's birthday party_ after being invited, there would be a pretty big problem there.

"Us, too," Sara confirmed, glancing over at Iris, Barry and Leonard for confirmation. Kara, Felicity and Caitlin all affirmed that they were onboard, too.

Roy sighed, like it pained him immensely to agree, but he nodded. "Sure, why not. She'd kill me if I wasn't there, anyway."

"Good boy," Laurel commended. "Now-

"Scatter!" Oliver hissed suddenly, and 80 percent of the heads swiveled to see Thea pushing her way out of the ladies room a little ways down the hall. Diggle and Oliver power walked away from the group and Leonard and Roy were quick to follow. Alex, Maggie and Laurel moseyed over to the water fountain and stood by it _ever_ so casually, and Iris and Sara darted over to Thea to see if they could distract her long enough for everyone to get a good getaway.

"You realize you still don't have everyones number, right?" Maggie spoke up, raising an eyebrow. "Not that I blame you- I don't think I've even ever been in the same _room_ with Roy before."

"Different shows. It's not your fault," Alex said, patting her on the shoulder.

Laurel shrugged. "I'm sure _someone_ has his and Leonard's numbers. Sara's got to; they had a group chat."

"A group chat with Roy Harper and Leonard Snart," Alex mused, a smirk playing on her lips. "Not everyone can say that."

"I think two people can say that," Laurel agreed. "Thea and Sara. I mean, I could be wrong. Roy could have this massive social life that no one knows about. All of his friends could be invisible and at lunch he could actually be sitting with them and not by himself."

Alex and Maggie both squinted at her. "It's times like these," Alex said slowly. "That I want to argue with everyone who has said you're not as weird as Sara."

"Oh honey." Laurel grinned at her. "Sara gets her weirdness _from me_."

"Pretty sure that's not how genetics works," Maggie commented, even though she mostly just looked bemused.

Laurel just grinned wider.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Man am I glad midterms are over," Winn commented as he lay stretched out on his back on Felicity's living room floor.

"Same, dude," Cisco agreed fervently.

"Aw, come on guys," Barry said with a grin. "Didn't you just love having Nerd Meetings three times a week instead of only once?"

"So many cookies..." Cisco mooned, a dreamy look settling over his face.

Barry laughed. "Exactly," he said, patting Cisco's shoulder. "Without midterms, you can't eat cookies without guilt."

"Unless you've gone through a breakup," Felicity added, dangling an arm over the side of the couch. "Then it's cookies, chocolate, and Ben and Jerries ice cream galore. At least... that's what happened when I broke up with Ray."

"Mm, when I go through breakups they make me sick to my stomach," Cisco countered, shaking his head. "I don't want to eat because I'm depresseddddd..."

"Aw, poor baby," Caitlin said, stretching out her leg to nudge his foot with her own. "Though I distinctly remember after you broke up with Kendra I crashed at your place and we made it through an entire bag of Swedish fish."

"We were watching the Titanic!" Cisco protested. "How can you _not_ make it through an entire bag of Swedish fish?"

The group laughed, and Julian picked up his pencil to fiddle with it and draw light marks on his notepaper. "Are we actually going to do any homework tonight?" he asked, not caring all that much either way. "Or should I just put these things away and we just relax for an evening?"

"I vote relax," Felicity spoke up, raising her hand before plunking it down. "I've got brownies in the freezer and I could get them out and we could make popcorn and watch a movie."

"Down for that," Winn agreed. Just then, his phone started buzzing. "Hang on; it's my mom. You mind if I take this?"

"Go ahead," Felicity allowed. "Yo Cisco, let's go make up some _popcorn_."

Caitlin held up a hand for both of them to give her high fives as they wandered out of the living room, keeping her eyes on Winn. "Hey, mom," he said into the phone, smiling. "I'm at Nerd Group, remember?"

Then his smile faded slightly, and he walked a little farther away, lowering his voice. "Hang on, what? Slow down?" A pause, and then all of the blood drained from Winn's face. "_What_?! When?!" Another pause. "Okay, okay, I'm coming home. No, don't be ridiculous. I'm coming home right now."

He must have been speaking loudly enough for Felicity and Cisco to hear, because Felicity popped her head back out of the kitchen. "What's up?" she mouthed in his direction, but Winn ignored her.

"Okay. I'll see you soon. Love you too. Bye."

He hung up his phone and stuffed it in his pocket, his face still deadly pale. "Winn, you're shaking," Caitlin realized, getting to her feet and putting her hand on his arm. "What's wrong? What did your mom say?"

"I- I have to go," Winn mumbled, searching around for a second before grabbing his sweatshirt from the couch and hurrying for the door. "I'm sorry guys. I'll, uh... I'll see you later."

"Winn, wait-!" Felicity cried, but Winn had already shoved his shoes and coat on and made it out the door, slamming it behind him.

There was silence in the house for a second. "Okay, what was that?" Barry asked, his eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"I don't know..." Caitlin murmured, looking equally as concerned. "Should we go after him?"

Felicity shook her head. "That seemed like a family thing," she said warily. "Winn's our friend, but we shouldn't pry on family things. I'm sure he'll tell us what's up. Right? I mean, it's Winn. He can't keep a secret to save his life."

"Um, he managed to hide that he was in love with Kara for six years..." Barry reminded Felicity slowly, giving her a weird look. "He can keep a secret."

"Kara," Caitlin said suddenly. "I'm going to text her. She's his best friend; if anyone needs to know what's going or can find out, it's her."

Felicity nodded her agreement, and Caitlin tugged out her phone to fill Kara in.

The group waiting for a response, standing in uncomfortable silence for a good five minutes before Caitlin gave up and shook her head. "She must be busy," she said with a sigh. "One of us can call him tomorrow, okay? It'll be fine."

Everyone nodded unsurely, and then people started to pack up to go home. The whole relaxed, carefree vibe of a few minutes ago had been ruined.

What was going on with Winn?

**Author's Note: Hmmmm that is the question. What _is_ going on with Winn? Any guesses? ;)**


	45. Chapter 45

**Author's Note: GUYS I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT! I HAVE AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT FOR MY FANFICTION NOWWWW :D :D **

**My username is writetoyou_fanaccount (which was not my first choice, nor my 20th, but you do what you can lol). If you're on Instagram and are feelin' it, slap me a follow! I'll post fanfiction-related stuff and other various fan-account-y stuff and it'll just be a good time all around :D**

While Winn was dealing with the call from his mother, Kara had been on a double date with Mon-El, Brainy and Nia.

"That was great fun," Brainy proclaimed as they walked out of the movie theatre, chattering about the film they had seen. "Though I must say I was a little confused at some points."

"It was _Frozen 2_," Nia said, giving him an incredulous look. "What was there to be confused on?"

"Wait, this is a sequel?" Brainy asked, startled.

"You never saw the first Frozen, did you?" Kara realized with a sigh, planting her face into her hand as Mon-El started to laugh.

After they had tried to recap the first movie for Brainy and promised to watch it with him later, the conversation shifted to double dates. "Are triple dates a thing?" Brainy mused.

"Sure," Mon-El agreed with a shrug. "Why? You have a couple in mind?"

Brainy looked suddenly shifty, looking at his friends from out of the corner of his eye. Nia wrinkled her nose excitedly, knowing that, if it was Oliver and Felicity or Caitlin and Julian, Brainy wouldn't be hesitant to say anything. "Come on, Brainy, spill. Who is it?"

"I was... tasked not to say anything," Brainy replied awkwardly, unable to refuse Nia anything. "They are... that is to say, the couple in question isn't exactly a... couple, yet."

"Querl Dox, are you playing matchmaker?" Nia teased, nudging him. "I feel like that's a growing trend right now."

Kara laughed. "Mon-El, look! We're trend setters. Wasn't setting up Nia and Brainy such a great idea? Look what we've started."

"Lovely," Mon-El deadpanned, and sent Nia a theatric wince over Kara's head. She rolled her eyes and smiled, knowing he _did_ actually care about getting couples together, especially when it made his girlfriend so happy.

"I'm dying to know, now," Kara said as they reached Mon-El's car and started to load in. "Who do you know who you want to be a couple? And who you'd want to on a triple date with?"

"I... I really can't say," Brainy winced. "I'm sorry. I was unofficially sworn to secrecy."

"You're no fun," Nia pouted, shaking her head at him.

Brainy was saved answering by Kara, who had just opened up her phone. "Hey..." she murmured. "Caitlin just texted me saying that Winn got a call from his mom that really freaked him out and he left Nerd Meeting early."

"There is a Nerd Meeting?" Brainy asked, intrigued. "Is it... open to the public?"

"Pretty sure it's invite only," Mon-El told him with a sympathetic glance. "Get top of the class in math or science and I'm sure you'll get in, though."

"I see," Brainy said, a little dejectedly.

"Guys, I'm serious," Kara murmured, still looking at her phone. "What do you think is up?'

"You think something's really wrong?" Nia asked, looking more concerned. "He didn't say anything when he left the meeting?"

Kara shook her head, a deep crease splitting between her eyebrows. Mon-El looked at her seriously. "Do you want me to drive you over to his house right now? Because I will, if that's what you need me to do."

Kara looked at him like he had just offered to get her the last overpriced donut from Jitters and leaned over to quickly kiss him on the lips. Thankfully, they hadn't gotten on the road yet, or Mon-El probably would have driven off it. "Thank you," Kara said sincerely. "But no. If he needs me, he'll say. But I'll text him anyway, just to make sure."

Mon-El nodded and turned the key in the ignition. The car fired up to life and Nia leaned back against her headrest, hand drifting across the middle seat to find Brainy's. He looked over at her and smiled, and gave her hand a squeeze.

A few minutes later, Kara's phone started to buzz and she picked it up. "Winn! Hey. Are you okay?"

Mon-El glanced over, trying to read her expressions and maybe hear what was being said on the other side of the phone.

"Of course," Kara said after a moment. "I'm just getting out of the movies with Mon-El, Nia and Brainy. Mon-El will drive me over right now." She jutted her chin at her boyfriend and Mon-El hurried to pull into a nearby parking lot so he could turn around. "No. Just me. I promise, okay? Just hang in there; I'll be there soon."

She hung up and started fidgeting nervously. "So..?" Nia asked, raising her eyebrows. "What's up?"

Kara bit her lip. "It's... it's something with his dad," she said. "I don't- I don't know how much he wants me to say; I'm really sorry. No one's, like... dead or anything. Or sick."

"Okay, good," Nia said, nodding. As curious as she was, she understood and respected Kara's decision to not reveal Winn's issue.

"We'll be there in, like, five minutes," Mon-El estimated as they came across a new mile marker. "I'm just going to drop you off and we'll go, okay?"

"Yes, thank you," Kara said, nodding. "That's perfect." She turned around to look at Brainy and Nia. "I'm sorry, guys, he loves you all- he really does- he just..."

"You're his greatest friend," Brainy said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We understand. Sometimes, you do not need a large group in your time of need, just a Kara Danvers."

Kara gave him a surprisingly teary smile and turned back around in her chair.

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

"Hey," Winn greeted, opening up the front door of his house as soon as Kara knocked on it. His hair was tousled and he looked like he'd been crying. Kara immediately pulled him in for a hug, and Winn squeezed her back gratefully. "Come on inside."

"Hello, Kara." Winn's mom, a greying, middle-aged woman with a sallow face and a weak smile, said when Kara walked into the kitchen and slung her coat over a chair.

"If I am intruding on anything here, please tell me to go," Kara said immediately. She wanted to be there for Winn, she really did, but this felt like an incredibly personal family matter and she didn't want to intrude.

"Don't be ridiculous," Winn said, brushing off her comment. "I'm sorry I was so vague on the phone."

"It's fine," Kara replied. "So... what exactly is going on?"

"My dad's getting out of prison," Winn said in a rush, letting out a gigantic breath afterword as if he'd been holding air in as well as the news. "He's out early on good behavior and he's coming back."

"Oh," Kara murmured, her voice small. She looked between Winn and his mom, unsure of how to react. "Is this... how are you feeling about this?"

"He should be in prison for the rest of his _life_," Winn's mom hissed, surprisingly savage all of the sudden. She twisted away from them and rested her hands on the kitchen counter, breath heaving for a second. When she had composed herself, she shook her head. "Winslow Sr. is not a good man. Maybe he behaved well in prison but I _promise you_, the _minute_ he gets out he will be back to his old ways. I don't- I don't want a man like that around my son."

"Oh," Kara said again, glancing at Winn. He sat down in on of the kitchen chairs and put his face in his hands and she placed her hand on his back. "Are you okay?"

"No," Winn replied candidly. "Yeah, sure, I want him to come back because there's some part of me who is stupid enough to think that he's changed. But then, like..." He shook his head. "I just- I wish he would just stay there. I wish we could just forget about him and _move on_. What if he comes back and- and- what if we get _close_ again and then he just goes and ends up back in prison? And I have to go through what I did 7 years ago _all over again_?"

Mrs. Schott let out a strained sob and covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry," she murmured, backing out of the kitchen. "Kara, stay as long as you like. I'll- I'll be in my room if you need me, Winn."

"I'm so sorry, Winn," Kara whispered. "I can't even imagine what you're going through right now."

"Can we just-" Winn broke off and looked at her imploringly. "Can we just watch something on TV and forget about this for a little while?"

Kara nodded. "Of course," she agreed, herding him over to the Schott's tiny living room and tossing Winn the remote. "Whatever you need to do."

Even though it had been his idea, Winn just stared at the controller in his hands, fingers listlessly roaming over the buttons. "What if this gets out at school?" he whispered. "I mean, it's going to be on the news. It's not like the last name _Schott_ is all that common. People are going to make the connection and then everyone's gonna start talking about how Winn Schott's dad is a felon, and Winn Schott's dad tried to kill people, and-"

"Hey, no one is going to say that," Kara told him, putting her arm around his shoulders and giving him a squeeze. "No one is going to say that, because if they do, I will go after them. And maybe I'll bring Caitlin, because we all saw the damage she did to Hunter when he tried to hurt Julian. I'm sure she would do the exact same for you."

Winn let out a tearful laugh and swiped at his eyes. "Okay," he murmured, putting his head comfortably on Kara's shoulder and turning on the TV with the remote. They perused Netflix before settling on a baking show and the two of them were silent for awhile.

Then Winn glanced up. "Kara?"

"Yeah?" Kara asked.

"Thank you."

She smiled, giving him another quick squeeze. "What're friends for?"

**AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High-AV-High**

Unfortunately for Winn, Kara was mistaken in assuring him that no one would be talking about his dad being in prison. There was an almost audible buzz when Winn walked into school on Monday morning, and he was suddenly so much more grateful for the virtual wall of friends that had insisted on surrounding him. Felicity and Cisco were to his left, Caitlin on his right, Kara leading the way and Mon-El and Brainy bringing up the rear.

Winn smiled slightly, letting his shoulders relax. Nothing could get to him with his friends around like this.

As he reached his lockers, James came jogging up. "Hey," he said, putting his hand on Winn's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "My mom saw the news this morning and I told me and I couldn't believe it. I thought you said that he was getting out in a few months?"

Felicity perked up, and she exchanged surprised looks with Caitlin. Neither of them had even known Winn's dad was in jail, and it seemed like James not only knew, but he was seriously in the loop.

"Good behavior," Winn explained with a disgusted eye-roll. "I dunno what kind of show he's been putting on in jail, but I can promise you that it'll end the second he steps over the threshold of my house."

He grabbed the last of what he needed and turned in the direction of his first class. The Nerd Squad watched him walk off with James glued protectively to his side, realizing the spot of Winn's Body Guard had been filled for now.

"How's your mom taking it?" James asked, his forehead creasing.

"Not great," Winn replied. "I mean, we'd been preparing for him to get out, but it's a _lot_ sooner than we'd thought. She doesn't want him home at all, and I don't either."

James gave him a look, raising his eyebrows, and Winn gave in a little. "Okay, so maybe I do a _tiny_ bit. But it's like... what if he _is_ different? And then he becomes _not_ different again and betrays us all over again? Or what if he hasn't changed at all and is still- still- _evil_, and then I don't get my dad back at all?" He shook his head, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets. "Man, I don't know what would be worse. Why couldn't he just stay in jail forever?"

"Well..." James hesitated, unsure of exactly what to say. "I guess... I guess if he still isn't a good person, he'll end up in jail all over again, right?"

Winn gave him a look that clearly told him that wasn't much comfort, and James winced. "I really don't know, man," he said with a sigh. "But I've got you, okay? If you or your mom need anything, I'll be there."

"Thanks, man," Winn said, holding up his hand for a fist bump.

The two boys were just coming up on Winn's classroom when Lena Luthor strode down the hallway. "Winn!" she called, and a few heads swiveled. Lena glanced around her uncomfortably, but didn't back down. "Right? Winn Schott?"

"That's me," Winn said with an awkward wave. He knew Lena through Kara and James a _tiny_ little but, but not enough for it to be normal for her to be actively seeking him out. "Wassup?"

"Look, I..." Lena hesitated and glanced around again, lowering her voice. "I heard about your dad. My, um... My brother is actually in jail right now, and so I- I get what it's like. To have someone close to you... _do_ something like that."

Winn tilted his head curiously.

"So I just... I wanted to say that if you need to talk or need advice or to rant or, I don't know... just have someone listen who _gets_ it and who's been through it... don't hesitate to talk to me." Lena nodded stiffly at him, her duty done.

Winn smiled, looking surprisingly touched. "Thanks," he said, shoulders dropping a little. "I might just take you up on that."

He nodded to Lena and James and hurried into his classroom.

"Hey," James to Lena said as they turned away from the doorway and began to head towards the Senior's section of AV High. "Thanks for doing that. I know it's not easy for you to tell people about your brother."

"Just wanted him to know that he's not alone," Lena diffused, though her cheeks colored slightly.

James put his arm around her shoulders, squeezing slightly. Lena went completely stiff and her eyes bulged a little, though she managed to keep walking in a straight line. "You're not, either," James told her, and she could see him peering at her from out of the corner of her eye. "So if _you_ ever need to talk... you know where to find me."

"Of course," Lena murmured. "Thank you, James."

He nodded, and awkwardly removed his arm and stuffed his hand into his pocket. The two of them continued in a semi-tense silence until Lena arrived at the door to her first class. She glanced over her shoulder at James and gave him a hesitant smile. "See you this afternoon? I'm going to need those photos from the Volleyball fundraiser ASAP."

James sent her a thumbs up. "You got it."

**Author's Note: Poor Winnnnn D: My baby. **

**My new plan, to come up with plots, is to go through the cannonical storyline of every single character in the story and see if I can't scrounge up a few more ideas. **

**Also, I'm sorry if y'all don't ship James and Lena. I know they're not popular because apparently Lena is gay and destined for Kara. But I LIKED THEM OKAY XD**


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